MLK, Jr. and the Power of Words

January 21, 2013

Growing up, I was taught, “soft times produce soft men and hard times forge hard men.” To be soft was to be too self-interested to stand up for what was right; to be hard was to be willing to sacrifice self-interest for what was best for others. There can be no doubt that the times and circumstances […]

Read the full article →

Guest Post: Give Young Leaders a Chance!

January 18, 2013

Recently, I presented at a cutting edge Evangelism conference. The conference hosted leaders from around the world who are using the Internet as a portal to reach on-line seekers. Citing statistic after statistic about the dearth of Christian witness among the millennial generation and how the Internet could fill that gap, I was struck by […]

Read the full article →

Five Regrets of the Dying

January 10, 2013

Bonnie Ware, writer and one-time palliative care nurse wrote a blog post last year summarizing the five most common regrets she heard from those who were in their last few weeks of life. Looking back can bring clarity to the choices we make today, especially when we are tying to gain clarity on the values that […]

Read the full article →

Nature-vert?

January 8, 2013

Extrovert? Introvert? How about Nature-vert? Mary and I went for a hike last week up the Lakefork trailhead south of Red Lodge, Montana on highway 212. Cross-country skiers and other hikers had packed the snow down on the trail enough that snow shoes were unnecessary. We were able to make great time hiking along Rock […]

Read the full article →

New Year New Job?

December 31, 2012

A friend who lives and works in another state recently asked me for vocational advice. He is in full-time ministry and is happy and loves the people with which he works. However, a new potential position has come on the radar that has all of these attributes plus greater long-term potential. Our conversation revealed five […]

Read the full article →

Can Blushing be a Social Grace?

December 28, 2012

I’ve always blushed easily and not really liked that fact. New research, however, suggests I should embrace the blush. This research suggests that those of us who blush can be at a social advantage over those who don’t. In the research, those who blushed after breaking a social rule were viewed more positively than those […]

Read the full article →

Five Parenting Tips for Parents with Introverted Children

December 26, 2012

Given the interest in my recent post from  Susan Cain’s Quiet, I wanted to share a few more thoughts from the book. Cain suggests a number of factors in a person’s life come together to give rise to an introverted personality, but that one of the most common factors is a highly reactive temperament. Everyone is responsive to their […]

Read the full article →

Christmas Focus Update

December 21, 2012

At the beginning of Advent, my family asked the question, “what could we give Jesus for Christmas that would make him smile?” It might seem a contrivance for adults, but nearly everyone connects emotionally with our culture’s gifting tradition at Christmas. Its always bugged me that we give each other presents when its actually Jesus’ […]

Read the full article →

The Names and Dates of Tragedy

December 18, 2012

The tragedy in Connecticut hit me hard when they released the names and birthdays of the victims. The expanded list of victims would be too long to list, but would include their families and all the children and teachers who “survived.” I don’t know what the solutions are, but I pray we are willing to pay the […]

Read the full article →

Culture of Personality?

December 12, 2012

Susan Cain’s Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking makes a powerful case for all of us introverts. I will post a review on the book another day, but I wanted to share a thought based upon the book. One of Cain’s foundational assertions in her book is that a culture of […]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →