What's In A Smile?
According to an article in The New York Times, the act of smiling can promote good feelings. Writer Daniel Goleman cites experiments in which researchers found that saying the word cheese caused a person to smile, which in turn created pleasant feelings. On the other hand, saying the word few created a different facial expression, which resulted in negative emotions.
The Measure Of Love
While visiting a Christian's home, I saw these words displayed on a wall plaque: "You love Jesus only as much as you love the person you love the least." I squirmed at those revealing words. Later I found similar words in 1 John 4:20, "He who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?"
After First Sight
In 1991, two operations restored Shirl Jennings' sight after 40 years of blindness. His family and friends reacted with absolute euphoria, but the next day Shirl's fiance recorded in her diary that he was "trying to adjust to being sighted . . . . Not able to trust vision yet. . . . Like [a] baby just learning to see, everything new, exciting, scary, unsure of what seeing means."
Our Work Matters
One of the world's greatest architects, Sir Christopher Wren, undertook the task of helping to rebuild London after it had been nearly destroyed by fire in 1666. One day he visited the site where a large church building was under construction. He called out to a laborer perched high on a scaffold, "What are you doing up there?" With pride that man called back, "I'm helping Sir Christopher Wren build a cathedral!"
In Memory
President Harry Truman was once asked to speak at a fund-raising project to help the children of a White House guard who was slain in the line of duty. With great emotion he said, "You can't imagine just how a man feels when someone else dies for him."
The Trinity
Many churches celebrate what is known as Trinity Sunday. Someone might say, "Who cares? With all the practical, everyday problems we face, why talk about such a complicated doctrine as the Trinity?" The problem with such thinking is that we cannot clearly grasp the truth of our salvation without having some understanding of the Trinity.
Calm Under Pressure
At the farewell for a minister who had served his church for 20 years, several preachers eloquently extolled his many virtues. One layman, however, paid a tribute that the pastor considered to be the most gratifying. He said, "I have observed him nearly every day for the past 20 years, and I've never seen him in a hurry!"
Our Fulltime Intercessor
It was dawn, and I was painfully aware of being only a few weeks into widowhood. After another restless night, I felt too weary to pray for myself. "Lord," I sighed, "I need someone to pray for me right now."
The Art Of Lilias Trotter
Few people have ever heard of Lilias Trotter, but it didn't have to be that way. A young art student in 19th-century England, Trotter had great talent as a painter. The well-known artist and professor John Ruskin recognized it, took her under his tutelage, and saw her ability blossom over a short time. In a letter he stated that she was "the best of my pupils." She was to become the next Ruskin protege of renown.
Compelling Love
I read a story some time ago about an aspiring young golfer who spent hours in his backyard practicing his golf swing. He wasn't allowed to use a real golf ball close to the house, only a plastic, practice ball.
The Good Life
Many people associate "the good life" with success, fame, and money. Yet a dying man who had it all told me that his life hadn't been worth the effort to attain his success.
Murphy's Laws
Murphy's Laws are observations about life that seem to have the weight of experience behind them. You've probably heard this one: "If anything can go wrong, it will." Here's another one: "You can't do just one thing; everything has its consequences."
Where's The Power?
I read a humorous story about a man who strolled out of a hardware store with a smile on his face and a brand-new chainsaw in his hands. He was told it could cut down five big oak trees in an hour. Twenty-four hours later, however, his smile was gone. Frustrated, he was back at the store complaining that the saw would never cut five trees in an hour. "It took me all day to cut down five trees," he said.
Home Missions
One morning as I was strolling along the shore of the Gulf of Mexico, I saw a middle-aged man sitting in the water. We exchanged greetings, and then he painfully struggled to his feet and began to talk.
How Can We Love?
First Corinthians 13 is often read at weddings. Yet even optimistic newlyweds will eventually fail to love. The only individual who perfectly fulfills this "love chapter" is Jesus Christ.
My Little Girl
Several years ago I read about a girl named Mary who had been born with a cleft palate. When she started school, her classmates teased and taunted her unmercifully because of her scarred and misshapen lip, crooked nose, lopsided teeth, and garbled speech. Mary soon became convinced that no one could love her.
Study To Live
If you want to become one of the nearly 24,000 licensed taxi drivers in London, get ready to do a lot of studying. The only way to get behind the wheel is to master The Blue Book, the single manual for a course that takes between 2 and 4 years to complete. It may take only a few minutes for the driver of a traditional black cab to take you from one point to another—but knowing how to get there required years of purposeful study.
Facing Danger With Prayer
Trouble lay ahead for King Hezekiah of Judah. He had just received a menacing letter from Assyria's King Sennacherib. This marauding monarch had conquered many cities, and Jerusalem was next on his list. In his letter, Sennacherib mocked the God of Israel and threatened to destroy the holy city.
Stop At The Start
In the spring of 1894, the Baltimore Orioles came to Boston to play the Red Sox in what was expected to be a routine baseball game. But what happened was anything but routine. The Orioles' John McGraw got into a fight with Boston's third baseman. Within minutes all the players from both teams had joined in the brawl.
Mother's Laws
As I read Proverbs 6:20, which refers to "the law of your mother," I recall some of my mother's unique "laws" that have helped me many times.
