Peter Drucker, a famous management consultant of the eighties and nineties, was famous for asking two successive questions. "What's is our main business?" - and - "How's business?" These simple questions can have powerful impact if seriously applied to almost any arena of our lives. They can help us focus on what we need to be doing. They can also help us to pay attention to the results of our… Continue

Does God have emotions? It seems clear that He does. Many different emotions are attributed to God in the Bible. When you picture/imagine God's face, what expression is on it? Is He angry, sad, somber or happy? Is He engaged, bored, or disinterested? What's His expression as He is looking at you?



It doesn't take long when contemplating God to realize that He is more than we can ever… Continue

Do you ever find yourself measuring yourself against some standard - internal or external? Sure you do; we all do it. We are almost always measuring ourselves. It seems to be part of human nature. The question is, "What is the reference point of your measurements?"



Most naturally, we measure all things according… Continue

Have you recently felt you deserved something, but got passed by? The first record of such feelings is in Genesis 4. Cain was downcast because his offering was not accepted by God, as Cain thought it should be. God warned him to face his condition of self-pity. He said, "If you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." (Genesis… Continue

When you do something wrong, are you willing to admit it? Some people seem to live as if they never do anything wrong - or should I say they don't ever say they are sorry. Others deny that what they have done is wrong. They simply cannot admit it. A number of others choose to rationalize what they may have done. They are always explaining away their actions or motives. Still others hide and cover their sinful or unfitting activity.



The Bible tells us a better way. We need to learn to… Continue

We run all over the place, enjoying our lives, attempting to keep up with our obligations and trying to hold everything together. There are so many opportunities - so many good shows to watch - so many people to keep up with - so many places to go… Continue

Skype is really shrinking the world in real time. More and more people can talk "face to face" over the Internet - either on their computers or now on their iPhones. What used to seem like a long way away is now literally in your face. We can often… Continue

Over the last few decades people have spoken about finding "themselves." Some have laughed and said they didn't realize they were missing or lost. Others have made it this search their serious life quest, and still others think the whole idea is a waste of… Continue

When we speak of physical strength and overall conditioning, a fair amount of attention is given to the strengthening the core - the abdominal area of your body. This region houses many of the vital organs of your body - and serves as the physical power center… Continue

“What’s new?” Sometimes it’s another way to say, “Hello.” At other times it’s a real question – it’s away of asking for a life update; “I’d like to know what’s been going on recently in your life.”

At times that simple question can be hard to answer. “There’s nothing new under the sun;” that’s what Solomon writes in Ecclesiastes 1:9. He says that life is meaningless, a wearisome repetition of patterns and actions that have little deep meaning – “under the…

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“Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?” Many of us know this opening line from the nursery rhyme, though we probably haven’t a clue as to what it is actually talking about. Whatever was specifically intended, it most certainly has some reference to growing “Mary’s” sphere of influence.

Most of us would like to build our effectiveness and sphere of influence. Clearly, being a contrary person will not be helpful – who wants to…

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“Repetition, repetition, repetition – that’s the key,” said the strange elderly woman. As I was running this morning, a peculiar woman with a cane stopped, began to make unnatural gestures with her hands, looked into my eyes and kept repeating the above phrase. As I continued to run, I pondered her comment. “Is repetition really the key?”

I think there a few interrelated keys to growth and effectiveness in real life. They are revelation,…

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“What do you want to be when you grow up?” It’s a question that parents and other adults ask children time and again. We all feel like we are supposed to have a resoundingly clear answer to this question, but in reality many of us still feel like we are trying to hone in on a satisfying answer.

This question can be a good way to “break the ice” with children, and a way to learn something about them. It may be useful to surface desires and…

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