On September 20, 1965, American soldier Jerry Curtis was captured in Viet Nam. He would spend the next 7.5 years in prison, suffering from indescribable malnutrition, torture, and isolation. What saved him was a pinhole in his prison cell, through which a tiny light illuminated an otherwise dark existence. Through that light, Curtis found hope.…
At a national conference for farmers, Farmer Jones introduced a new method of farming to the crowd. His assignment for the next year was to go around the country and teach hundreds of other farmers his new technique. At the convention the next year, Farmer Jones was brought onto the stage. They asked him if…
In a group call with several pastor friends, one of them made a profound statement that has stuck with me: “God will never give you a life where he’s not needed.” Rick Warren said it like this: “You never know God is all you need until God is all you have.” And Jesus declared, “Apart…
My first car had a lot of things that didn’t work well, including the gas gauge. I had two choices: fix the gas gauge (which would have cost more than I paid for the car), or always be near a gas station. I chose the latter. It is important that we stay near our power…
A four-year-old boy was eating an apple in the back seat of the car when he asked, “Daddy, why is my apple turning brown?” “Because,” his dad explained, “after you ate the skin off, the meat of the apple came into contact with the air, which caused it to oxidize, thus changing its molecular structure…
You’ll never get far in life – or recovery – without accountability. Leadership expert Stephen Covey said it like this: “Accountability breeds responsibility.” In other words, if you want to live responsibly, you must first live accountably. (Yes, “accountably” is a word.) The Book of Ezekiel tells a great story of accountability. God made the…
I’m afraid of heights, foul balls at a baseball game, and most Mexican restaurants. What are you afraid of? We all have our unique fears. And that’s okay. It’s what we do with those fears that matters. Canadian author and psychologist John White said, “True courage does not consist of the absence of fear, but…
The only thing worse than finding a worm in your apple is finding half a worm in your apple. You know the other half is there, somewhere, but you don’t know where. So how does a worm get into an apple, anyway? I’m glad you asked. An insect lays an egg in an apple blossom.…
Question: What’s the difference between a prayer at church and a prayer at the casino? Answer: The guy who prays in the casino does so with much more intensity. Unfortunately, the only time most of us engage in prayer is when we are desperate for healing, forgiveness, or a miracle. I love these words, which…
You may not be familiar with poet Emma Lazarus. And you may not recognize the title of her most famous work, The New Colossus. But if you are from America, you will be very familiar with the following words from that poem. “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.…