A mother and father look down at their new baby in love and wonder. What will that child become? In the delivery room, they have no way of knowing what the future holds for that baby. Not so with Jesus. Imagine the scene for Mary and Joseph after their firstborn arrives: “OK, Mom and Dad,…
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Even the most level-headed Christ-follower – one focused on worshiping Jesus – can get distracted at Christmas. If that’s you, then likely you are already well-aware of the danger in focusing on gifts, shopping, parties, vacations and even family time or special church activities during the holiday season. What may be more subtly distracting is…
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From Orphan to Community Leader About Amilcar In March 2013 we visited the church in La Esperanza, Quetzaltenango, Guatemala to teach the Spiritually Healthy Leader workshops to 18 church leaders, including Amilcar and Hilda Carrilo. (Read Hilda’s story here.) We had the privilege of staying in the Carrilo’s home, one filled with an atmosphere of…
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A beautiful soprano voice filled the candlelit church with the famed Magnificat. The text was Mary’s prayer of worship as she affirmed her faith while carrying the Christ child. Mary sang this song when she was chosen by God to be mother to His Son on earth. He has looked at me with favor ……
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Second in a two-part series about choosing an attitude of gratitude. In at least 162 places in the Bible, God references His desire for us to show gratitude. There are commands (“give thanks” and “offer thanksgiving”) along with actual demonstrations that model how and why to offer gratitude (“thanks be to God who has given…
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First in a two-part series about choosing an attitude of gratitude. It is no secret: gratitude doesn’t come naturally to humans. Giving thanks is learned. It is a habit others teach us or we choose to acquire with study and practice. If you doubt it, then think back to the times your mother whispered in…
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Jungshin Kim, Ukraine: “A Staff In God’s Hands” About Jungshin As part of our ministry trip to Ukraine in November 2014, we shared the Spiritually Healthy Leader series with master’s degree candidates at Ukraine Evangelical Seminary. There we met Jungshin Kim and her husband, Pastor Young Bong Kwon, who is the seminary dean. Jungshin manages…
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Andrew blinked. He had fallen asleep on the couch after Thanksgiving dinner. Now it was time to move on the next important task – shopping on Black Friday. Like many of us, Andrew had taken time on Thanksgiving to think about his many blessings and give thanks for them. And like many of us, he…
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In India, tap water is unreliable even though it is purified. Local entrepreneurs recycle used water bottles, fill them with tap water, and reseal them with a hot nail or piece of metal so the bottles appear to have been processed in the factory. These water bottle knocks-offs are considerably less expensive than factory-processed bottled…
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Among his axioms for personal living, Thomas Jefferson (president of the United States 1801-1809) listed this one: “Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.” The principle warns against procrastination by urging you to take care of day-to-day responsibilities immediately – tasks like household chores, paying the bills, calling a sick friend. But…
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