Inside, Outside, Rightside Up

It's easy to envy the rich and famous. They don't seem to worry about paying the bills, or the daily grind like the rest of us. Sounds pretty attractive, right? Except it can be catastrophic to our spiritual life. Jesus met a rich young man in Mark 10:17-25, who showed us just how strong the hold of riches can be on us. This man was so attached to his physical stuff, that he turned down a chance to

"News Flash! Church Elder Found Faithful to Wife of 50 Years!"

David and Shirley Hunsberger have been married and faithful to each other since July 14, 1965. Here's a picture of the two of them at one of their celebratory occasions:

So the next time the media report something less desirable than 50 years of faithfulness, remember the good stuff!

Messing Up God's Artwork

This morning The Lovely Joanne told me in her endearing way, "Well, you're stuck with me forever, so you'd better just get used to it." By which she was telling me she loves me and is not interested in ever being anything but married to me. Which is really a good thing, because I

Fruit? No Fruit? No Control

Last year the fruit trees my neighbor and I have in our yards produced a very large crop. We used all we could, froze a lot and still watched a lot fall to the ground. This year, all the blossoms got frozen in our Mother's Day snowstorm, and we won't get any fruit at all. That points out a couple of truths of gardening and life in general: You can't guarantee a crop, no matter how hard you try. All you can do

Stress and Relief

After reading several thousand Facebook posts from people in my Friends list from all over the world, I'm beginning to think that a lot of stress in life is caused by trying to be right all the time. We get irritated, we feel threatened and frightened, we feel unloved, unappreciated and alone. Often it's not a huge life-threatening situation, but something simple. I don't like the way my wife just spoke to me or questioned my plan for a project. Sometimes we get upset because we think

Be Still and Know...Part 3

Been busy lately? I sure have! My days and weeks have been filled with people, meetings, phone calls, issues needing work and clarification and prayer. Sometimes though you just have to stop and get away from it all. Lately I've been contemplating and studying the importance of silence -- getting away, turning off the noise and giving myself a chance to hear God speak. The first two posts talked about some of the aspects and benefits of silence, moving from an understanding of Psalm 46:10. But wait! There's more! Especially when we are alone with God, we get to deal with two important messages: