We hear a lot of voices in our ears. Just a few examples . . . The voice of conformity The voice of condemnation The voice of criticism But God offers the voice of encouragement. “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will…
Dustin Hoffman went three days without sleep to prepare for a scene in Marathon Man. Meryl Streep learned Polish and German for Sophie’s Choice. Christian Bale lost 60 pounds to play an emaciated insomniac in The Machinist. Jamie Foxx glued his eyes shut to play Ray Charles. And Leonardo DiCaprio slept in an animal carcass…
In December, 1944, American forces were surrounded by German troops at Bastogne, Belgium. The German general demanded immediate and unconditional surrender. For the Americans, the situation appeared hopeless. Supplies were low and morale was lower. Enter General Anthony McAuliffe. He assembled the 101st Airborne Division and surveyed the situation. Then he told his men, “Men,…
You need to come to see your addiction as an opportunity, not just a problem. Peter Drucker was right when he said, “Effective people are not problem-minded; they are opportunity-minded.” There are several traits that are consistent among men and women who learn to overcome. Writing for Workplace Strategies, Stewart, Cooper, and Conn identified four…
A man bragged to his friends that he had finally met the woman of his dreams. “What should I do next?” he asked them. “Invite her over for a home-cooked meal,” they told their friend. A few days later, the buddies got back together. Someone asked the man how things went with his date. “Horrible,”…
Hudson Taylor, a missionary from the 1800s, said this about God doing the impossible in our lives: “There are three stages to every great work of God: first it is impossible, then it is difficult, then it is done.” Let me suggest a few things in your life that need to move from impossible to…
Sometimes our defense of past actions is more injurious to those close to us than those actions themselves. Let’s get academic. Dr. Martin Seligman is a former president of the American Psychological Association. Seligman says we all have what he calls “an explanatory style.” He defines this as “the manner in which we habitually explain…
On January 23, Tom Brady completed a touchdown pass to Mike Evans in the fourth quarter of his final playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams. Evans proceeded to toss the ball into the stands. I know. I was there. A fan caught that ball from Evans. Security was on the spot to document that…
It’s a real word. You can look it up – beamonesque. In the 1968 Olympics, American long jumper Bob Beamon won the gold medal. In the process, he obliterated the world record by two feet, with a jump of 29 feet, two and a half inches. His jump was so far ahead of any jump…
You will never get out of addiction by relying on the same thinking that got you into addiction. Said another way, it was your best thinking that got you into this mess. Perhaps it is time to follow your heart rather than your brain. Blaise Pascal said, “The heart has its reasons which reason knows…