What happens when your calendar marries your to-do list? Action and accomplishment are birthed! Until we can manage time, we can manage nothing else. This quote is attributed to Peter Drucker. Time management and self-management are so intertwined that they are indistinguishable. Everything I have ever read regarding time management boiled down to my ability to manage myself. Time is a precious commodity. One can feel it slipping away moment by…
Read MoreFor the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost
This is the key verse for the book of Luke “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10). There are a lot of opinions about who Jesus is and what He came into the world to do. For some, He is a great teacher, a moral philosopher, and a tremendous role model. These are all nice things, yet Jesus never…
Read MoreSearch me, not search others!
Search me O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalm 139:23-24) It is quite easy to see the faults in others. They seem evident and obvious. In fact they are hard to miss and quite observable. It has become nearly a sport, finding the faults and inconsistencies in…
Read MoreSignificant Places revisited!
Even though I retired last year, I am participating in events again, a cross between Groundhog day and deja vu. I am at the denominational leader’s conference in downtown Kansas City. I moved to Kansas City in 1978 upon graduation from college. From the summer of 1978 until late 1981, this place was home. I was a seminary student. Susanne and I got married in 1980; Kansas City was the…
Read MoreDecisions and God’s Counsel
I was reading a passage from the Old Testament and I found the wording quite curious “The Israelites sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord.” (Joshua 9:14) This verse is part of a longer story when the Gibeonites deceived the Israelites. To give the Israelites the idea that the Gibeonites lived far away they artificially aged their clothes and provisions. This way the leaders of Israel would…
Read MoreCommitment Over the last Forty Plus Years!
Nearly 42 years ago, I developed a habit of typing out Bible verses, quotes from books or thought that I wanted to read and look at daily. Fast forward to last summer when I had the painful duty of purging all of my files over the last 40 plus years. I could not take them with me, there were between 2000-3000 file folders with approximately 20 items in each folder.…
Read MoreWe have been waiting for you!
Yesterday Susanne and I went into a place just “looking” and as we entered the establishment we were met by a smiling young man, who greeted us with this statement: “We have been waiting for you!” He had no idea that we were coming, we barely knew we were coming. For whatever reason, it caught me off guard, and I not only smiled but laughed out loud. I told him…
Read MoreRetirement continued.
It has been seven months since I officially retired. Many things have gone as planned, and a few things have turned out differently than our original plan. This reminds me of the statement.”Do you want to hear God laugh? Tell Him your plans!” Yet, to make a change one must have a plan. When planning for retirement most people think of finances, and rightly so. So it is time to…
Read MoreOut with the Old
2021 has been a challenging year at our house. So challenging that I have been on a hiatus from blogging. New Year’s eve seems an appropriate day to get back in the saddle. At our house, we have had two parents pass away and my wife has experienced a return of cancer. In addition like you, we have faced the trials and turns that come every year. The good news…
Read MoreWhat about distractions?
One may start the day with the best of intentions, but it will not be long before you face the inevitable distractions that come at high speed and from all directions! Every generation thinks that they are living in the most challenging times, yet it would seem there are more opportunities at present to lose focus than at any time in history. I believe this to be true, yet I…
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