“For the Lord saw the affliction of Israel, which was very bitter. But he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash” (2 Kings 14:26-27). In the spring of 1884, the French artist George Seurat began painting A Sunday on La Grande Jatte. That painting, seven feet tall and ten feet wide,…
“Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are his delight” (Proverbs 12:22). Dishonesty is a part of addiction. Have you ever met an addict who didn’t lie? If yes, let me know. I’ll send you $1 for every addict you can name who didn’t lie. Psychiatrist Dr. Beth Tumarkin…
As an NBA chaplain, I was blessed to meet Kobe Bryant, one of the all-time greats of professional basketball. Too often, people focus on how his life ended, in a plane crash on January 26, 2020, rather than how his life was lived. It is easy to forget what an incredible player Kobe Bryant was.…
The other day, I was watching my favorite old sitcom, Leave It to Beaver. The guest star was an actor named Wendell Holmes. He played the part of an alcoholic named Andy. Andy looked familiar to me, so I did some research. It turns out that Holmes appeared on four other episodes of Leave It…
“The tempter came to him” (Matthew 4:3). Temptation is a part of life, and it is especially a part of recovery. There is never a point when the temptations go away. If Jesus never moved beyond the point of temptation, we should not expect to, either. In fact, James (the brother of our Lord) talked…
Jesus took naps. “Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion” (Mark 4:38). Our Lord clearly believed in rest. While a storm was tossing the very boat he was in, he responded with a yawn and a power nap. He didn’t sleep long, but he did sleep. Power naps can play an essential role…
“How old would you be if you didn’t know the day you were born?” – Toby Keith, Don’t Let the Old Man In Ponder that one for a bit. Don’t misunderstand me. Time takes its toll on all of us. Skin wrinkles. Metabolism slows. Muscles atrophy. If you don’t believe me, attend your next high…
Your recovery won’t go very far or deep if you only stay sober when it’s easy. It’s what you do when it’s hard that puts points on the board. Until you are tested – really tested – you won’t know if you are really sober. Jack Hayford had a lot to say about spiritual growth…
According to Parkinson’s Law, the amount of time it takes to complete a task depends on how much time is allotted. In other words, it will take two weeks to complete a project if you are given two weeks. If you are given four weeks to complete the same work, you will take four weeks.…
It happened on this day in history, in 1825. The Erie Canal opened. But it didn’t come easily. The 363-mile passage from the Hudson River at Albany to Lake Erie at Buffalo was the brainchild of several engineers who began meeting in the 1780s. Eventually talk became action. Sometimes, progress takes time. It took over…