Quiet, Please!

Mother Teresa: “God cannot be found in noise.” A study in the journal Heart in 2006 found that silence can relieve tension in just two minutes.  In another study of 100 men and women who went on a silent retreat, Conor O’Shea found that simply being quiet before the Lord led each person to experience…

God Has a Plan

God has a plan. No matter the turmoil and pain you may have caused with your addiction, God can turn it for good. Peter Marshall wrote, “God will not allow suffering to come into your life without first devising a plan on how to use it.” There is no amount of suffering that is greater…

Twenty $1 Bills

A lady lost her purse in a shopping mall. It was found by a young boy, who was happy to return it. When the woman looked through her purse, she found something odd. “When I lost my purse, there was a $20 bill in it. Now there are twenty $1 bills.” The boy replied, “That’s…

Fast and Furious

There’s a great line from the movie, The Fast and the Furious: “I live my life a quarter mile at a time.”  Dr. Eric Maisel writes, “Recovery requires daily exercises and paying daily attention to your life’s purposes.” If you desire long-term sobriety, I offer this advice – Stop it! Let me explain. While long-term…

Life Jackets

As a storm raged, the captain realized his ship was sinking fast. He called out, “Anyone here know how to pray?” One man stepped forward. “Aye, Captain, I know how to pray.” “Good,” said the captain. “You pray while the rest of us put on our life jackets. We’re one short.”  In life – and…

Where Football Began

What we in America call “football” has its roots in European rugby and what we call “soccer.” Imported to the states in the 1800s, these games evolved into what would eventually become the National Football League, which recently celebrated its 55th annual Super Bowl. Tom Brady has won 50 of those Super Bowls. The modern…

Charles Reilly

On this day in history – April 29, 1892, Charlie Reilly did something that had never been done in a baseball game before. He was baseball’s first pinch hitter. We all need a pinch hitter at some point.  At some point in every hitter’s career, they come out for a pinch hitter. There are times…

Humiliations

Writing The True Christian Life, John Calvin said, “Warned by such evidences of their spiritual illness, believers profit by their humiliations. Robbed of their foolish confidence in the flesh, they take refuge in the grace of God. And when they have done so, they experience the nearness of the divine protection which is to them…

When They Were Alone

I recently came upon this gem from the Book that bears my name. “When they were alone, Jesus explained all things to his disciples” (Mark 4:34).  Think on that for a second or two . . .  Okay, time’s up. Allow me to expound. The disciples had a front row seat to Jesus’ miracles, healings,…

Keep Punching

Relapse is a trickle that becomes a stream that becomes a river. The key is to catch it while it is still just a trickle. Any of us is susceptible to relapse. Take this verse to heart: “Let him who thinks he stands take heed, lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12).  In my book, Life…