Have you ever forced your eyes open on a Monday morning and dreaded the thought of getting out of bed? I sure have. On some days we feel invigorated and activated; on other days we have little desire to do anything. For many parents, getting our children to practice the piano or finish …
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A boy swam in a seemingly endless sea of perfect, safety tested plastic toys designed in primary colors. Standing on the carpet of his room; the room with his name on the door, he was fed up. Weeks ago he had already grown weary of his older version of Wii, and several of his friends …
Yesterday I read an article that inspired me to the core. Someone has invented a new kind of soccer ball. When the ball is kicked, it stores up energy within. The ball can be brought home and plugged in to an extension cord. Fifteen minutes of soccer stores up enough energy to light up a house for three hours. The ball has been designed to provide electricity for poor villages in developing countries.
Talk about creativity! My head is spinning with admiration.
We have a bit of that spirit around here. I really don’t mean to brag, but
When I was in my pre-teens, the pop group Air Supply was burning up the American charts with their string of love ballads. I remember listening to their albums (the black vinyl kind, before CD’s) in my big sister’s room and I thought she was so lucky to get to go to their concert when they came to town. She went with her boyfriend and they probably waved a lighter in the air along with thousands of fans while the Australian duo sang “All Out of Love” and “Here I Am (just when I thought I was over you).” I didn’t get to go. I was too young.
I’m not too young now. I turn 40 today. And on this monumental day
It was the last show of the day, and it finished right at park closing time. My young family along with my in-laws had just enjoyed a theatrical production of The Lion King at Disney World’s newly opened park, Animal Kingdom. We strapped our baby girl in her stroller, gathered up all our bags and trinkets and geared up for the exiting process.
As we made our way toward the exits, a concession worker from a corn dog stand came out and offered the passer-by’s free corn dogs. I love corn dogs! My father-in-law and I scooped up as many as we could for a convenient dinner as throngs of people streamed past us toward the exits.
One for you. Here you go. One for you. One for you. Hey, where’s Caleb? Caleb? Caleb? Has anyone seen Caleb?…
By Guest Contributor Sharon Toews
What does it mean to experience “the renewal of your mind.” Typically I have thought of this in terms of purification or beginning to desire the things of God instead of the things of this world. I believe these are both common and valid interpretations, but I feel like I understood a fresh aspect of this verse today.
Our minds naturally function according to the rationality of this world and tangible reality. But we are exhorted: “Do not be conformed to this world,” or, as noted in my Bible as another possible translation, “to this age.” We are called not to be conformed to this world, this age, this blip of finiteness suspended amidst an unfathomable eternity beyond the confines of time and space and our feeble understanding of “reality.”
When we accept Christ, we are set free from previous worldly notions of what is possible, realistic, and logical. Indeed our whole being is being renewed and reoriented, and yet there is
Today is Sunday, my day of REST. So its time to have some fun and think about something unusual, out of my normal life pattern. Rarely do I get to listen to some of history’s greatest creative prodigies talk freely about the creative process. This interview with Bill Evans (1929-1980) is worth watching. He was a brilliant and innovative jazz pianist, and one of the most influential creative forces in the history of jazz. His insights into the creative process extend way beyond music. In this video he is talking about jazz technique, but I’m thinking about my life, relationships and work. Notice his persistent idea that the jazz innovation emerges from truth. Here, an artist talks about truth in the realm of music much in the same way that a theologian talks about truth in theology. To me that’s
In “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for …” (Hebrews 11:1) In the closing weeks of World War II, the American cruiser U.S.S. Indianapolis was churning westward in the Pacific Ocean en route to the Philippines. Just after midnight, an enemy submarine emerged into the balmy air and launched two torpedoes into …
THE GREATEST IMPROVISATIONAL ATHLETE in my generation was Ervin “Magic” Johnson, the great point guard of the Los Angeles Lakers. When Magic was gliding down the court no one in the world had any idea what he was about to do with the ball. Whatever he did usually shocked everyone, including his teammates, and it almost always generated baskets.
As great as he was, it would be impossible for Magic Johnson to