Revitalize Your Church

Dear Lord and Father of mankind, forgive our foolish ways; reclothe us in our rightful mind, in purer lives thy service find, in deeper reverence, praise.  In simple trust like theirs who heard beside the Syrian sea the gracious calling of the Lord, let us, like them, without a word rise up and follow thee. O Sabbath rest by Galilee, O calm of hills above, where Jesus knelt to share with thee the silence of eternity, interpreted by love! Drop thy still dews of quietness, till all our strivings cease; take from our souls the strain and stress, and let our ordered lives confess the beauty of thy peace. Breathe through the heats of our desire thy coolness and thy balm; let sense be dumb, let flesh retire; speak through the earthquake, wind, and fire, O still, small voice of calm! --  John Greenleaf Whittier

Thanksgiving is not a holiday -- it's an attitude! If it's just a holiday for us, then we let ourselves off the hook. "I'll celebrate Thanksgiving one day a year, and be a grouch the other 364!" Actually, Thanksgiving Day is simply a reminder of how we should live every moment.  It is a special day to celebrate what we are called to be all year long! Thanksgiving is "Thanks-living!" Did you know that thankfulness and mental health go together? Counting your blessings brings healing, inner strength and emotional well-being. Everything goes downhill with negativism and self pity. How does a person cultivate a thankful heart? 1. Go hunting for small blessings. Your life is packed with millions of small treasures! Sometimes, petty annoyances distract us from the abundance of joy. 2. Focus on what you have rather than what you wish you had. Perhaps you don't have everything you'd like -- Is this really the end of the worl...

"The game is scheduled.  We have to play it.  We might as well win!" -- Bill Russell former NBA star of the Boston Celtics

Some people have a hard time getting along with others.  Wherever they go, they leave a trail of broken relationships, disappointments, and a heap of former friends. An individual can be highly intelligent, a hard worker, willing to go the extra mile, committed to excellence -- and still fail because of relational problems. I've often wondered why so many people sabotage themselves.  Is it just the way they're wired?  If so, is it possible to change?   Yes, we're all wired differently -- and some are easier to get along with than others.  However, applying a few relationship rules can help you get along with almost anybody. 1.  Focus on the positive.  You will find plenty of flaws in everyone if you look for them.  Instead, go mining for the positive, and you will find that too! 2.  Never go fishing with a crab-apple for bait.  If you want people to be friendly to you, be friendly to them first.  Don't wait f...

A man was bitten by a rabid dog and ended up in bed seriously ill.  He  mustered up enough strength to request a pen and a pad of paper.   Then, he began to write furiously -- page after page.  "Honey, are you  writing your last will and testament?" his wife asked.  "No," he  replied, "I'm making a list of people I'm going to bite!"  "His bark is worse than his bite" has been said both of dogs and  grumps.  Unfortunately, there are some people who can pack a pretty  vicious bite.  Perhaps, you have been "bitten" by someone.  Maybe you felt the sting  of gossip or the barbs of unjust criticism.  Such encounters leave us  wounded and in need of emotional first aid.  How do you handle "attack dog people"  -- the ones who snarl and snap  at you, and will take a hunk out of your behind if you turn your back?  1.  Remember, hurting people hurt people.   When they lash out, ...

Two people can experience the same event, yet see it in different ways. This happens all the time at accident scenes.  Eyewitnesses often give conflicting accounts.  The difference isn't in the facts -- but rather, in how the facts are interpreted. When writing books, I share many stories that involve other people.  My publisher makes me obtain permission from the people who are going to be in the book.  I send them the passage where they are mentioned and they usually reply, "I remember it a little differently." Then I respond, "Of course, it happened this way.  I recall it clearly." And they reply, "No, it happened like this. . ." So I go back do a bunch of editing until the story matches, at least to some degree,  how we both remember it. Why does this happen?  I'm not making things up.  I really remember it that way -- but we end up with different perspectives based on how we processed the event. We all have stori...

Strong winds blew down a swath of trees -- leaving jagged trunks jutting from the earth.   Driving by a few days later, we shook our heads and sadly recalled how beautiful the land used to  be.   I grumbled against the wind.   Good hearted loggers tried to clean it up a bit -- by clearing some of the windfall. Their honest efforts,  however, seemed more an invasion of nature than a healing. Their cuttings left deep scars, cold and  stark.   I drove by, shook my head, and grumbled against the loggers.   The burning followed. How the fire started is still a puzzle -- perhaps a lightening strike, an engine  spark, or a careless cigarette. Regardless of the start, it took the firefighting volunteers a full effort for  the finish. Acres of charred stubble marred the landscape.   I grumbled against the fire.   But passing time has a way of healing scarred soil and human hearts. From blackened ground, new ...

I have some bad news and good news. The bad news is that you are going to have big troubles.  It's pretty much a guarantee that problems are headed your way.  Sometime, somehow, somewhere, you are going to experience difficulty. Problems are a part of the human experience.  We shouldn't be so surprised when they show up. The good news is that you don't have to let your troubles get the best of you.  If you process them right, you will grow and become a better as a result. A few years ago, a buddy of mine called and told me his wife left him.  This terrible ordeal was the most painful and discouraging period of his life.   Someone else made an unfortunate choice that caused his life to crash. I was impressed with how he handled this heartwrenching situation.  Instead of caving into dispair and giving up on life, he decided to become a railroad engineer. Even from early childhood, he always wanted to drive a train.  But, li...

Many morning, before climbing out of bed, I repeat Psalm 118:24: “This is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it!”  I do this especially on days when there are major challenges before me. This simple little practice, is like hitting a spiritual/emotional reset button, and has  proven to be a helpful “faith lift." THIS IS THE DAY  -- It reminds me that today really counts. In fact, it’s the only day I have.  I don’t have yesterday. It’s already gone. There’s no guarantee about tomorrow. But I do have this golden opportunity called today! It’s important to treasure and make the most of it! John Wesley encourages us to “redeem the time, for that’s the stuff life is made of!” Moments are precious. Every breath we take is a special gift. This is the day to live! Some folks live in the memories of the past. Others live in the anticipation and fear of the future. But, we are called to live today! Make it count! Make it count! THE LORD HAS MADE  -- ...

Today is a brand new day – a delightful opportunity to begin again. I will not be held hostage by yesterday’s pain. If my heart remains open, and my spirit is right, yesterday’s pain becomes today’s gain. I will grow into a better person through the sufferings. Today is a brand new day – and it needs to stand on it’s own. I will not allow myself to be seduced by yesterday’s success, nor frustrated by yesterday’s failures. I shall fulfill my duty this day, and never look backwards for an excuse. Today is a brand new day – and it’s the only one I have. I refuse to let tomorrow’s concerns steal today’s joy. If tomorrow is going to be bad – why should it destroy the day I have? That would mean two bad days instead of just one. I want to make the best of what has been given to me. Today is a brand new day – God’s gift for life investment. It is not to be squandered by worry or regret. Consider the moments. Moments are the stuff life is made of. They march by us ...

Would you like to have a good day?  It's possible. My friend, Stan Toler, recently shared the following insights on the  subject, and  graciously granted me permission to share them with you: Not everyone can have a great day. The sun doesn't always shine.  Factually, the customer isn't always right. The traffic lights aren't  always in sync. BUT, EVERYONE CAN HAVE A GOOD DAY. Let me give you 4  ingredients for having a good day. 1. DO SOMETHING YOU HAVE TO DO. Nothing puts a cloud over a sunny day any more than mind-wrestling a  To-Do list. Go ahead and get crankin’ on that to-do item staring at  you like a mean dog. At least start on it. Take a small step, it may  prompt another. Doing all or part of something that needs to be done  is a push toward the finish. 2. DO SOMETHING YOU LIKE TO DO. Your day isn't complete until you've done something for yourself.  That’s not selfish, it’s actually generous. When you reward yourself...

What kind of juice do you have in your tank? Lawnmowers and cars run on gasoline. Chainsaws and weed eaters run on a gas/oil mixture. Sailboats and kites run with the wind. Campfires run on wood -- And you run on one of two kinds of energy: positive or negative (or, more likely, a mixture of both.) What's the difference between running on positive vs. negative juice? 1. Negative juice is the "default" mode. If you don't deliberately  choose the positive path, you'll end up operating in the negative. We  are grumpy by nature -- and cheerful by choice. Nobody is positive by  accident -- It requires a strong commitment and a new way of thinking. 2. Running on negative juice is easier at first -- but much harder in  the long run. Since it is the default mode, you don't have to work at  becoming negative -- it just happens naturally! No extra effort is  required. However, those who operate with negative energy find that  life is much more diff...

We cannot always choose our setting, situation or circumstance. Our plans and ideas don't always go the way we had hoped.  The only thing we can choose is our response. Life has a strange way of suddenly careening out of control, and putting us in the ditch. One thing I know about the ditch - nobody ever intends to go there. It just happens. (A variation of a popular bumper sticker: "Stuff Happens") "Bad Luck" often brings with it a sense of despair and pessimism. When problems pile high, we lose our hope, and find ourselves singing the children's jump-rope rhyme: "Same song, second verse. It ought to get better, but it's gonna get worse." Whatever happens -- you can make the worst of it, or you can make the best of it. The choice is yours. Wherever you are in life, you can just sit there and complain, or you can start planting a garden. If you plant, you won't see results right away. Tiny seeds need time to grow - but they will sprout, f...

According to Gallup, 71% of American workers hate their jobs (other polls even claim figures as high as 80%.) Now, with so much job hating going around, and it seems like something should be done about it. If you hate your job, then you are the somebody who should do something about it. Things won’t get better if you just sit around wishing it would. Now, I understand that some work environments are toxic and intolerable. In situations like that, the best thing you can do is seek an exit strategy. If you really hate your job that bad, then look for another one. Often, however, job dissatisfaction has much more to do with the worker’s attitude, than a dysfunctional environment. It is with this basis of understanding that I propose the following suggestions for learning to love your job: 1.     Examine your attitude. Are you allowing negativity to poison your spirit towards those you work with? If so, the problem may be more about you than it is abo...