In 1946, Rebecca was born to a poor family in Tennessee. Her dad was a tobacco farmer. After her birth, her dad paid the doctor’s fee with a bag of oatmeal. Raised with 11 siblings, Rebecca was determined to set out on her own after high school. She pursued a career as an author and…
One night when I was about 13, I went to my school and ran around the track, imagining there were thousands of people in the stands cheering me on. In my mind, I won the race. But the race wasn’t real, and my “time” didn’t matter. It didn’t count. We achieve a lot of things…
Over 200 years ago, John Wesley’s “Holy Club” asked themselves the same 22 questions every day. I suggest you try this yourself. (I will shorten and paraphrase some of these for the sake of brevity.) Am I living the life of a hypocrite? Am I honest in all my words? Am I a gossip? Can…
What kind of legacy are you leaving for those coming behind you? In his song, “Small Town Southern Man,” Alan Jackson sang these powerful lyrics: “He was always proud of what he had, He said his greatest contribution Is the ones you leave behind, Raised on the ways and gentle kindness Of a small town…
Okay, baseball fans, here’s a trivia question for you. Who had more career no-hitters? Nolan Ryan Roger Clemens, Pedro Martinez, Greg Maddux, Steve Carlton, Grover Alexander, Lefty Grove, Don Sutton, Don Drysdale, and Whitey Ford – combined Answer: 1. Nolan Ryan Nolan Ryan tossed a record seven no-hitters over his amazing 27-year career. By comparison,…
Sometimes, God employs a strange battle plan. In Judges 7, we read about Gideon. God told him to take 300 Israelites into battle against 135,000 enemy soldiers. And it gets crazier. God said to bring as his weapons torches, trumpets, and clay pots. Gideon would put the clay pots over the torches so the light…
In the Spring of 1894, the Baltimore Orioles came to Boston to play a baseball game. During the game, Orioles’ third baseman John McGraw got into a fight with the Boston third baseman. The fight quickly became a brawl that involved both teams. Soon, the fans in the stands broke out into a massive fight.…
Let’s talk about a bedrock of successful recovery. It’s called self-control. Jim Rohn said, “Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments.” Scripture teaches, “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7). Navy SEAL and leadership expert Brent Glesson writes, in The…
You can only accomplish the impossible when you see the invisible. “It was by faith that Moses left Egypt and was not afraid of the king’s anger. Moses continued strong as if he could see the God that no one can see” (Hebrews 11:27). That’s what makes for elite athletes, chemists, astronauts, and doctors. Like…
The great philosopher George Carlin said, “People who see life as anything more than pure entertainment are missing the point.” A lot of people miss the point. Consider little Jimmy, for example. Jimmy walked up to his teacher’s desk, holding a report card with a big red ‘F.’ “If I was you,” said Jimmy, “I…