Worthy Words

But He answered, “You give them something to eat.” They said to Him, “That would take eight months of a man’s wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?” “How many loaves do you have?” He asked. “Go and see.” (Mark 6:37-38) Jesus on the shore of the Sea of Galilee with his disciples some two thousand years ago, while standing in the midst of hungry people, asked a most penetrating question, “How many loaves do you have?” The twelve disciples, astonished at the question, essentially replied, “We don’t know. And even if we did, would it really matter?” They were so blinded by the need that they could not even begin to acknowledge that the solution was right before them, perhaps even within their very hands. What Jesus said to His disciples, He says to us: “Go and see.” Perhaps what you are looking for—the very solution—is closer than you ever imagined. It might be in your own two hands. It may sound trite, but it’s profoundly true. As Christians...

There is a story about a writer, in his fifties, who had written a manuscript for a book and sent it to several publishers without success. He grew so discouraged that he threw the manuscript into the wastepaper basket. As his wife tried to salvage the manuscript, he told her sternly. "We've wasted enough time on it. I forbid you to remove it from the wastebasket!" Well, you know how well that works. She decided the manuscript should be seen by at least one more publisher. When she arrived at that publisher's office she pulled out the most unusual looking package that the publisher had ever received as a manuscript. Underneath a wrapping of brown paper was a wastepaper basket still holding the writer's manuscript. This way, she reasoned, she was not technically going against her husband's wishes. She did not retrieve the manuscript—the publisher did it for her. And when he read it, he loved it. The writer in this story is Norman Vincent Peale; the manuscript w...

In the September 10, 1997 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association one of its articles shed light on a federally funded study of 12,000 teenagers. The research yielded an unexpected finding— teenagers still need their parents. It may seem to us that everything we say goes in one ear and out the other, but the fact is—according JAMA—parents play a significant role in their lives. The study revealed that teenagers, who don't smoke, drink, have sex, take drugs, or commit acts of violence, refrain from doing these things because of two basic factors. The first, was feeling loved by their parents. The second was feeling comfortable in their school. Researchers also found that if parents expect adolescents to get good grades and refrain from sex, teenagers tend to be influenced by those expectations. Moreover, the study showed that it doesn't matter about the family's income, or their race, or whether both parents work, or whether there is only parent at home—the ...

What can you say? It’s just plain hot in our part of the world right now. I guess most are wondering if we will ever see another drop of precipitation. Is it ever going to rain? Considering our propensity to complain no matter what the weather conditions, there are two lessons to learn. First, we often have to wait a long time for the things we enjoy most in life. Second, waiting matures us and creates a greater sense of appreciation and value for the blessings of life. So, as you pray for our dry parched land to receive those sweet drops of liquid refreshment from heaven and cool off a bit, thank God for what you do have rather than complaining about what you don’t have. And as you wait during these dog-days of summer, relax and enjoy some of my favorite t-shirt one-liners. Change is inevitable except for a vending machine. Sometimes I wake up grumpy — other times I let her sleep. Women who aspire to be equal with men lack ambition. Ever stop to think and forget to start again? It is ...