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HOPE CHANGES EVERYTHING
Faith means believing the unbelievable. Hope means hoping when everything seems hopeless. - Gilbert K. Chesterton I am told that the Russians have an interesting way of expressing their notorious fatalism. In the face of adversity they simply shrug and say, “Hope dies last” (Nadezhda...
ESCAPING THE FEAR FACTOR
The wise man in the storm prays to God, not for safety from danger, but for deliverance from fear. It is the storm within which endangers him most, not the storm without." - Ralph Waldo Emerson I am not what you would call a motion picture aficionado. In fact, I cannot even recall...
THE GREAT DIVIDE
"The will of God (always) prevails. In great contests each party claims to act in accordance with the will of God…, and yet one (party) must be wrong. God cannot be for and against the same thing at the same time.” - Abraham Lincoln In general, I am an optimist; a glass half full, we can...
A CHRISTMAS EXPOSE
Want to keep Christ in your Christmas? Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, forgive the guilty, welcome the unwanted, care for the ill, love your enemies, and do unto others as you would have done unto you.” - Steve Maraboli Christmas time is here. Some say that it is the most...
THE GRATEFUL HEART
“In ordinary life we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we ever give, and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich.” ― Deitrich Bonhoeffer I have always been fascinated by the extraordinary life of a man known simply as Jesus. He came into this world on a...
SURVIVING THE MADNESS
What has violence ever accomplished? What has it ever created? No wrongs have ever been righted by riots and civil disorders. A sniper is only a coward, not a hero; and an uncontrolled or uncontrollable mob is only the voice of madness, not the voice of the people.” ― Sen Robert Kennedy....
HOW’S YOUR ATTITUDE?
The greatest day in your life and mine is when we take total responsibility for our attitudes. That's the day we truly grow up.” ~ John C. Maxwell The infamous Hilary Hinton Ziglar, better known as Zig Ziglar, was once one of the world's most popular inspirational speakers. In his...
LIFE UPSIDE DOWN
“Man is living a life of great disorder because his values are upside down. Gain is more important than truth; hate is more important than love; intellect is more important than heart; the stuff of Earth is more important than finding a treasure which even death cannot destroy.” –...
A CULTURE OF DECADENCE
The more decadent a culture gets, the more they have a need for what they don’t have at all, which is innocence, so you end up with kiddie porn and a perverse obsession with youth.” ― Joni Mitchell I’m not fond of opinion polls, so you can imagine how I felt asking...
Behold the Empty Tomb
"I am pressed to admit that I don't have the capacity to understand the bloodied horrors of a cross and the wild exhilaration of an empty tomb. But at the point that I think I completely understand God... I have lost Him. Therefore, I much prefer to simply marvel." - Craig D. Lounsbrough...
TIME TO CHEER UP!
In my own life I know that my state of cheerfulness is a reliable gauge of my level of spiritual enlightenment at that moment. The more cheerful, happy, contented, and satisfied I am feeling, the more aware I am of my deep connection to the Spirit.” ― Wayne Dyer I first caught a glimpse...
THE QUESTION OF TIME
I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo. "So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us." ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring It’s...
Now is the Time
Art, unlike life, permits do-overs: the illusion that one can get things right with craft and persistence." — Kahn ManTime Have you ever heard the term "Do Over"? Here is the dictionary definition: do-over : a new attempt or opportunity to do something after a previous attempt has been...
The FEAR of CHRISTMAS
May the spirit of love which comes at Christmas fill our homes and our lives and linger there long after the tree is down and the lights are put away for another year. - Thomas S. Monson A long time ago in a stable far, far away… Multitudes of people around the world pause each December...
A Crisis of Hate
Throughout your life, people will make you mad, disrespect you and treat you bad. Let God deal with the things they do, because in the end, hate in your heart will consume you.” ― Will Smith History is beset with acts of violence committed by depraved, disturbed and hateful human...
An Ode to the Opinionated
There is nothing in the world as easy in giving as an opinion; consequently, in general, there are few things so utterly valueless. - Charles William Day It's a beautiful morning. The Gulf waters are placid at the moment. This will most likely change later on today as the developing sea...
Who Needs The Church?
There is a movement bubbling up today that goes beyond cynicism and celebrates a new way of living, there is coming a generation that stops complaining about the church that it sees and becomes the church that it dreams of." - Shane Claiborne Religion's not your thing? You say that...
The Voice of Conscience
Between the radiant white of a clear conscience and the coal black of a conscience sullied by iniquity lie many shades of gray - where most of us live... Not perfect but not beyond redemption." - Sherry L. Hoppe Pangs of conscience. Yikes, there's a quagmire waiting to be stepped in. The...
Suffering The Silence of God
I believe in the sun when it's not shining, I believe in love even when I feel it not, I believe in God even when he is silent.” – Author Unknown – I got a little tearful today. In public, no less. Relaxing by the Gulf waters here on Florida’s West Coast, I was watching the pelicans...
A Rebel with a Cause
Drinking beer is easy. Trashing your hotel room is easy. But being a genuine Christian, now that's a tough call. Actually, that's called rebellion." - Alice Cooper - I am a bit of a rebel. Some say it's in my genes. Actually, I can be rebellious in dress trousers too (groan...)....
Traveling the Narrow Road
The narrow path that 'Uncommon' people will take, that the Lord wants you to go down, that really is the ultimate way to go." - Coach Tony Dungy - Traveling unfamiliar roads can provide many opportunities to enjoy new sights, sounds, and experiences. However, aimless wandering is not the...
Show Me Some Love
Throughout your life, people will make you mad, disrespect you and treat you bad. Let God deal with the things they do, because in the end, hate in your heart will consume you." - Will Smith In the 1983 Sci-Fi film Star Wars Episode VI: Return of The Jedi, there is a scene in which the...
The Tyranny of Discontent
Mankind, by the perverse depravity of their nature, regards that which they have most desired as of no value the moment it is possessed, and torment themselves with fruitless wishes for that which is beyond their reach." - Francois Fenelon Charles Dickens was a 19th century author who...
We’re All Going to Fail
Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end. Failure is something we can avoid only by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing." - Denis Waitley There is an anonymous old adage that dates back to...
There Be Squalls Ahead
In a storm of struggles, I have tried to control the elements, clasp the fist tight so as to protect self and happiness. But stress can be an addiction, and worry can be our lunge for control, and we forget the answer to this moment is always yes because of Christ." - Ann Voskamp I...
Beware the Sirens’ Song
The masses do not see the Sirens. They do not hear songs in the air. Blind, deaf, stooping, they pull at their oars in the holds of the earth. But the more select, the captains, they harken to a Siren within them... and royally squander their lives with her." - Nikos Kazantzakis Have you...
A Man Called Jesus
Christianity is not about building an absolutely secure little niche in the world where you can live with your perfect little wife and your perfect little children in your beautiful little house where you have no gays or minority groups anywhere near you. Christianity is about learning...
Surrounded by the Shadow of Death
Somebody should tell us, right at the start of our lives that we are dying. Then we might live life to the limit, every minute of every day. - Paul VI " The fish was motionless on the water's surface as it went floating by. Leaning over the rail I saw it approaching in the current, its...
Songs of the Mocker
It is most remarkable that Abraham Lincoln, when he saw so much that was vulnerable in the leadership of the Christian Church, did not move to the opposite error and become a mocker.- Elton Trueblood - With all of the exotic wildlife here in Florida, our official State bird is the...
Worried Half to Death
If you ask me what the single most important key to longevity is, I would have to say it is avoiding worry, stress and tension... - George Burns It is real, it is out there, and it could kill you! It is waiting...watching... and you might be its next victim. Let's just say that it...
Happy, Happy – NOT
There once was in man a true happiness of which now remains to him only the mark and an empty trace, which he in vain tries to fill from all his surroundings... But these are all inadequate, because the infinite abyss can only be filled by an infinite and immutable object, that is to...
What’s Done is Done
I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You're doing things you've never done before, and more importantly,...
The Saga of Even and So
Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through the experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved. - Helen Keller - Horatio Gates Spafford was a prominent American lawyer, a devout Christian and a senior partner in a...
The Strong Delusion
These bickerings of opposite parties, and their mutual reproaches their declamations, their sing-song, their triumphs and defiance, their dismal prophecies, are all delusion” - John Adams - Everyone has told a lie. On that point I hope we can all agree. “Not me brother, I have never...
What Matters Most
What really matters in life is how God sees me. He is not concerned with outward appearance; He is concerned about the state of a man's soul. - Billy Graham Something just wasn't quite right. I could tell. Billy (not his real name) was usually Mr. Charisma, flashing his broad toothy...
CONSCIENCE: Voice of Morality
Between the radiant white of a clear conscience and the coal black of a conscience sullied by sin lie many shades of gray - where most of us live... Not perfect but not beyond redemption. - Sherry L. Hoppe She tried to smile, but I wasn't convinced. “You look upset”, I said. Alexa...
Silencing My Tell-Tale Heart
Guilt upon the conscience, like rust upon iron, both defiles and consumes it, gnawing and creeping into it, as that does which at last eats out the very heart and substance of the metal.” - Bishop Robert South The American writer Edgar Allan Poe is perhaps best known for his tales of...
Freedom To Forget The Past
Memories have huge staying power, but like dreams, they thrive in the dark, surviving for decades in the deep waters of our minds like shipwrecks on the sea bed.” ~ J. G. Ballard ~ Mark Twain once remarked, “Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.” ...
Offended? Get Over It!
If all the printers in all the world were determined not to print anything till they were sure it would offend nobody, there would be very little printed.” - Benjamin Franklin - Florida in July is..., well... it is hot. Okay, at times it is really hot. Thankfully, I like the heat. ...
One Nation Under God?
I do not believe that the Constitution was the offspring of inspiration, but I am as satisfied that it is as much the work of a Divine Providence as any of the miracles recorded in the Old and New Testament.” - Benjamin Rush - (at the signing of the Declaration of Independence) Is the...
Why all the HATRED?
Throughout your lifetime, people will make you mad, They will disrespect you and treat you badly. Let God deal with the things people do, because in the end, hate in your heart will consume you.” - Will Smith In the 1983 Sci-Fi film Star Wars Episode VI: Return of The Jedi, there is a...
Lessons from the Belly of a Fish
Religious and non-religious people alike have heard the story of “Jonah and the Fish.” But has this fairy tale fame distracted us from the deeper meaning and purpose of this powerful little book?" Nineveh was an ancient Assyrian city located in Upper Mesopotamia. Its archeological...
Moving Beyond The Past
People make mistakes all the time. That's how we learn and grow. If there's patience and love, and you care for people, you can work them through it, and they can find their greatest heights.” - Pete Carroll Have you ever made a dumb mistake? Acted inappropriately? Had a moment when you...
I’m a Goin’ Fishin’
My teaching at this time will be very simple, but I hope it will be highly practical; for my longing is that none of you, that love God, would be reluctant to go fishing for him.” - Charles Spurgeon I'm a coastal junkie. The sea is in my veins. Today my writers perch is at Catches...
Charting Your Course
We do not understand the intricate pattern of the stars in their courses, but we know that He who created them does, and that just as surely as He guides them, He is charting a safe course for us.” - Billy Graham What would it be like if we were all born with a detailed life map encoded...
The Fantasy of World Peace
e world The Apocalypse (end of times) speaks powerfully of trouble ahead with storm warnings that carry a booming jolt of truth. The warning is clear: prepare to meet thy God...” ~ Billy Graham ~ I had a dream recently. The world was at peace. No wars. No division. Everyone had...
A LIFE WELL LIVED
I am content; that is a blessing greater than riches; and he to whom that is given need ask for no more out of life.” - Henry Fielding - I would like to tell you an inspirational story that I heard many years ago. The main characters are a successful, well-educated, somewhat...
Exploring My Depravity
It is possible to be highly educated and at the same time morally depraved. There is, in fact, a certain kind of moral depravity that only the highly educated can attain, because it requires sophisticated skills of rationalization and self-deception.” - Iain W. Proven - Human...
The United States of SODOM
If God doesn't soon bring judgment upon America, He'll have to go back and apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah!" - Ruth Graham It seems to me dear reader that, to borrow a phrase from Bob Dylan, “Times they are a changing”. But, many of the cultural shifts may not necessarily be for the...
Show Me The Facts…
All opinions are not equal. Some are a very great deal more robust, sophisticated and well supported in fact, logic and argument than others.” - Douglas Adams - I prefer to deal with facts. Black and white. Yes or no. Good or Evil. True or false. Male or Female. Cold hard...
CONFIDENCE: Faith and a Pure Heart
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” - Henry S. Haskins History is rife with the periodic destruction of accumulated human erudition. After the collapse of the Roman Empire, for instance, much of the Egyptian-Greco-Roman...
CONFLICTED: The WAR Within
Sometimes, struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If we were to go through our life without any obstacles, we would be crippled. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. Give every opportunity a chance, leave no room for regrets.” - Unknown Have you ever been...
All You Need Is LOVE
Unconditional love really exists in each of us. It is part of our deep inner being. It is not so much an active emotion as a state of being. It's not 'I love you' for this or that reason, not 'I love you if you love me.' It's love for no reason, love without an object.” - Ram Dass For...
We Suffer, We Die- But Why?
When your time comes to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song, and die like a hero going home.” - Tecumseh I was...
The Torment of Worry
There is nothing that wastes the body like worry, and one who has any faith in God should be ashamed to worry about anything whatsoever.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi ~ He was vigorously pounding the pulpit. I was daydreaming. The commotion drew me back into the sermon which had not been...
Living in Laodicea
I was being called to surrender the very citadel of my “self”. I was completely in the dark. I did not really know what repentance was or what I was required to repent of. It was indeed the turning point of my life.” - Bede Griffiths - The ancient city of Laodicea was a wealthy and...
THE CHOICE OR THE GIFT?
You are heir to a heavenly fortune, the sole beneficiary of an infinite spiritual trust fund, a proverbial goldmine of sacred abundance beyond all common measure or human comprehension. But until you choose to exercise your rightful inheritance of this blessed gift, it will remain...
Lying To Myself
What do you mean, Phib?" asked Miss Squeers, looking in her own little mirror, where, like most of us, she saw - not herself, but the reflection of some pleasant image held in her own brain.” - Charles Dickens - I recently came across some research conducted a number of years ago at the...
Innocence Lost and Found
Something has spoken to me in the night...and told me that I shall one day die, I know not where. Saying: "[Death is] to lose the earth you know for greater knowing; to lose the life you have, for greater life; to leave the friends you loved, for greater loving; to find a land more kind...
The WAR over Christmas
We venture to assert, that if there be any day in the year, of which we may be pretty sure that it was not the day on which the Savior was born, it is the 25th of December. Regarding not the day, let us, nevertheless, give thanks to God for the gift of His dear Son.” - Charles Spurgeon -...
The Entire World is a Stage
"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players; they have their exits and their entrances, and one man in his time plays many parts…” -William Shakespeare If the world is nothing more than a magnificent theatrical performance, then we the inhabitants of spaceship...
The Perils of Wealth
The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but it is in his integrity and in his ability to affect those around him positively.” -- Bob Marley -- Wealth. I like that word. It's mysterious. Really, who defines wealth? Or should the question be, what defines wealth? I'm...
The Importance of Confidence – Part 2
"And you tell me over and over and over again my friend, ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction ... no, no, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction" - P.F. Sloan Confidence in a Crisis If you harbor dreams of a world filled with peace, harmony and goodwill...
The Importance of Confidence – Part 1
"The secret of making dreams come true can be summarized in four C's. They are Curiosity, Confidence, Courage, and Constancy; and the greatest of these is Confidence." - Walt Disney How important is Confidence? The year was 1987. I was in the Florida Keys aboard a dive boat leaving the...
Revive US Once More
"To all my non-believing, sort-of-believing, and used-to-be-believing friends: I feel like I should begin with a confession. I am sorry that so often for you the biggest obstacle to God has been Christians." - Shane Claiborne Twice each year, Florida is invaded. Not by hordes of tourists...
KNOWLEDGE: A Blessing or a Curse?
Knowledge is acquired information. Intelligence is the ability to use that information to your advantage. Wisdom is learning not to destroying yourself or others in the process." - Anonymous In Greek mythology, there are tales of a sacred spring located in the land of Pieria, a region of...
THE DEATH OF ME
The terrible thing, the almost impossible thing, is to hand over your whole self - all your wishes and precautions - to Christ." - C. S. Lewis As a Christian, I have always struggled with the necessity of dying to myself. Like most people, I want what I want when I want it. We seldom...
The illusion of TIME
"Time is the most undefinable yet paradoxical of things; the past is gone, the future is not come, and the present becomes the past even while we attempt to define it, and, like the flash of lightning, at once exists and expires." - Charles Caleb Colton My obsession with old clocks began...
I’M ONLY TAKING MY TIME
"Everywhere, people are discovering that doing things more slowly often means doing them better and enjoying them more. It means living life instead of rushing through it." - Carl Honore Florida has been my home for nearly a quarter of a century now. Like so many hybrid Floridians, I...
WE’RE ALL JUST COMFORTABLY NUMB
"Hello! Is there anybody in there? Just nod if you can hear me. Is there anyone at home?" - Gilmour, Waters It's sunny and hot on the Gulf coast of Florida, oh, but that sea breeze is so refreshing. I am sitting outdoors at a favored lunch spot (Mama's Greek Cuisine in Tarpon Springs,...
GRACE, LOVE AND MY GUILTY HEART
"Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute of your life with love, grace, and gratitude." - Denis Waitley I recently traveled to New England for a long overdue visit with family and friends. Driving...
THE STORMS OF LIFE
The great test of life is to see whether we will hearken to and obey God's commands in the midst of the storms of life. It is not just to endure storms, but to choose the right ways while they rage." - Henry B. Eyring Rabbi Harold Kushner tells of a personal tragedy that changed the...
TOO MANY CHOICES
I often think about, 'How do we return to a simpler way of living? Is there some way that we can start to think of each other as human beings again, instead of worshiping money, instead of worshiping electronics, instead of worshiping getting ahead just for me?" - Giancarlo Esposito...
IN THE COMPANY OF MOCKERS
"A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word, 'darkness' on the walls of his cell." - C. S. Lewis Florida is known around the world for its balmy weather. Floridians enjoy 11,000 miles of rivers, streams...
WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO LOYALTY ?
"You give loyalty, you'll get it back. You give love, you'll get it back." - Tommy Lasorda I can remember back to a time when the word loyalty really meant something. People seemed more "connected" in those days. That's ironic because we had no cell phones, social media, or email. ...
JUST CALL ME A FOOL
"I am a great and sublime fool. But then I am God's fool, and all His works must be contemplated with respect." - Mark Twain Aristotle was an ancient Greek philosopher and scientist who lived from 384 - 322 BC. He studied for 20 years at the legendary Academy in Athens under its...
The Anxiety Syndrome
ISIS... Global Warming... Terrorism... Economic Collapse... Racism ... Airport Security ... Riots ... Murder ... Retirement ... College So how is your ANXIETY level? That's what I thought. Let's talk. Anxiety is sometimes defined as uneasiness associated with vague or unknown threats,...
ABANDONED BY GOD ?
Have you ever felt forsaken? I sure have. I've doubted God and even wondered if He really exists. I've become angry and cursed His name when my prayers were not answered (or more truthfully, when I didn't like the answer). I've walked through many a valley and spent seasons in the...
SO, YOU DO NOT LIKE CHRISTIANS?
"I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." - Mahatma Gandhi Mahatma Gandhi (born Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi on October 2, 1869 in Porbandar, India) was an activist and religious contemplative. He began his involvement in social...
YOU’VE GOT TO SERVE SOMEBODY
Music is an agreeable harmony for the honor of God and the permissible delights of the soul. - Johann Sebastian Bach I met Bob Dylan in the late 1970‘s. I was a fledgling Rock & Roll DJ spinning the wax on a progressive rock station in the North East. Mr. Dylan was in town for a...
BETTER WATCH WHAT YOU SAY!
We are what we believe we are.” - C.S Lewis William James was one of the leading thinkers of the late nineteenth century. He was an American philosopher, psychologist and trained physician. Born in New York City on January 11, 1842, James was the oldest of five children. His father was...
LIVING IN A DANGEROUS WORLD
Time, like water, is fluid. Today it seems to stand still. I‘m sitting at the sponge docks in Tarpon Springs enjoying lunch and watching a sentinel pelican preening on the piling. It‘s another idyllic moment here in Florida. And then a startling blast from a truck horn breaks the...
JUST HANG IN THERE BABY
"My life really sucks” I hear that a lot from people that I meet. Many seem to live with endless drama and uncertainty; hanging onto emotional and spiritual sanity by a thread. Some complain about being trapped in the status quo. Others are exhausted, anxious, and feel like they are...
The Road Less Traveled
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I... I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference. - Robert Frost Traveling on unfamiliar roads can provide many opportunities to enjoy some new sights, sounds, and experiences. However, aimless wandering is not the best approach...
NOW THAT WORRIES ME!
"I believe God is managing affairs and that He doesn't need any advice from me. With God in charge, I believe everything will work out for the best in the end. So what is there to worry about?" - Henry Ford The year was 1833. A pair of Presbyterian ministers, John Jay Shipherd and Philo...
SOMETHING TO BELIEVE
“So take care how you listen more will be given to the man who has something already, but the man who has nothing will lose even what he thinks he has.” - Jesus They call them Buzzwords. Trendy phrases that have come into vogue in popular culture. We hear them every day. Among the many I...
Who’s In Charge Here?
It matters not how straight the gate, how charged with punishments the scroll. I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.” - William Ernest Henley I have always been prone to self-reliance. To me, such autonomy was the fourth virtue (right behind the three...
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