Father O’Malley answered the phone. “Hello, is this Father O’Malley?” “It is.” “This is the IRS. Can you help us?” “I can.” “Do you know a Ted Houlihan?” “I do.” “Is he a member of your church?” “He is.” “Did he donate $10,000 to the church?” “He will.” It would appear that Ted Houlihan attempted…
By the end of World War 2, General Dwight D. Eisenhower was smoking four packs of cigarettes per day. Then he quit cold turkey. How did he do it? “I gave myself an order,” he said. No one was there when Ike gave himself that order. As C.S. Lewis said, “Integrity is doing the right…
Just days before her wedding, a young woman wanted to be certain of her fiancée’s fidelity. So she set up a date for an attractive woman with her soon-to-be husband. She told the woman, “I’ll arrange for Jack to take you to dinner, then for a walk on the beach under the moon. To put…
Life is all about routine. A study by Duke University found that 45 percent of our behavior is automatic. Malcolm Gladwell, author of Blink, writes, “I have a new way of doing things, and I don’t care if you think I’m crazy.” Sometimes, “a new way of doing things” is crazy. There are some routines…
The battle for sobriety can be viewed in one of two ways. You can see it as a temptation from the enemy that sets you up for failure. Or you can see it as a test from the Father that sets you up for success. As I remember my academic career, I fondly recall those…
A woman went into a pet store and asked for 300 cockroaches. The shop owner said, “I can do that, but if you don’t mind me asking, why on earth would you want 300 cockroaches?” The woman replied, “Well, I’m moving today, and my lease says I must leave the place in the same condition…
It is true that what you take in through your eyes will affect your brain. But the opposite is also true. What you have already stored in your brain will affect what you look at. Neurologist and author Richard Restak wrote, “What the eye sees is determined by what the brain has learned.” There is…
On September 7, 1892, John L. Sullivan stepped into the boxing ring in New Orleans as the undefeated, undisputed heavyweight champion. His opponent was a relative unknown, by the name of Gentleman Jim Corbett. By all accounts, Sullivan dominated the fight, but he was unable to score a knockout. In those days, fights continued until…
One of the most amazing thoughts to ever consider is this – God chose you. Knowing you would fall, live in addiction, and make a general mess of things, still, God chose you. Jesus was clear and Jesus was direct: “I have chosen you” (John 15:16). Oswald Chambers reminds us, “It is not that you…
A lion woke up one morning, intent on asserting his position as king of the jungle. So he approached the monkey and roared, “Who is the mightiest animal in the jungle?” “You are, Master,” said the quivering monkey. The lion asked the wildebeest, tiger, and leopard the same question. Each gave the same respectful reply.…