It's Too Easy
I read about an instant cake mix that was a big flop. The instructions said all you had to do was add water and bake. The company couldn't understand why it didn't sell—until their research discovered that the buying public felt uneasy about a mix that required only water. People thought it was too easy. So the company altered the formula and changed the recipe to call for adding water and an egg to the mix. The idea worked, and sales jumped dramatically.
Finding Rest
According to a survey conducted by an insurance company, one of every six workers in the US feels too busy to take all the vacation days he or she has earned. Even though studies show that a week's holiday each year can dramatically reduce stress and the risk of heart attack, many people just keep working.
A Departing Blessing
A cancer-stricken believer was dying. I was in his room as his family gathered around him. One by one he spoke to his children, to their spouses, and to his young grand children. He gave each a loving, tender blessing. Even his warnings were spoken with gentleness. He reminded them to keep the Lord in the center of their lives. We wept together, knowing that soon he would no longer be with us. A few days later he was gone.
Plenty Of Pencils
My mother lives alone now. It's been 8 years since my dad died. She can't get out by herself except to take brief walks. She's having a terrible time with her short-term memory. Conversations are limited to a few repeated comments.
The Upside Of Sorrow
Sorrow can be good for the soul. It can uncover hidden depths in ourselves and in God.
The Winning Combination
I have often been encouraged by people without their realizing it. I remember walking through the main lounge of a Christian retirement community late one evening. The residents had gone to their rooms for the night, except for one elderly woman. Unaware of my presence, she patiently worked on a jigsaw puzzle and joyfully hummed to herself. She seemed to be quite content.
Confession & Consequences
She brutally murdered two people in 1983, but in prison Karla Tucker confessed her sins to God and became a vibrant Christian. Many people hoped her transformation would persuade legal authorities to change her punishment to life imprisonment. But the courts rejected all appeals, and her execution was carried out in 1998.
Shine!
Author Anne Lamott once wrote that the people she admires have "purpose, heart, balance, gratitude, joy. . . . They follow a brighter light than the glimmer of their own candle; they are part of something beautiful."
Misquote
Imagine the frustration of a mother as she tries to gather her family for supper. Her 8-year-old son comes through the door smuggling a dead bird behind his back. "Call Ann for dinner," says his mother. "Then wash your hands and come to the table."
Battle Praise
Visitors to the Military Museum in Istanbul, Turkey, can hear stirring music that dates back to the early years of the Ottoman Empire. Whenever their troops marched off to war, bands accompanied them.
Feeding Jesus' Sheep
What will keep us serving the Lord in our church and community when the going gets tough? Although we may be sensitive to the needs of others, that alone isn't enough. Nor should we be driven by a need that we have—a desire to be appreciated or loved by others. Our needs are deep, and only God can satisfy them. The more we try to satisfy them with anything else—even God's work—the more dissatisfied we will become.
Better Than Gold
The Gideons, a worldwide network of people who distribute Bibles, had been operating in the former Soviet Union less than a year. It didn't take them long to find opportunities to pass out copies of the Scriptures in Russian. Wherever they went, they were welcomed by people who were hungry for the Word of God.
Let's Keep Digging
Scottish physician A. J. Cronin (1896-1981) was forced by illness to take a leave of absence from his medical practice. He then decided to write a novel. But when half done, he became disheartened and threw his manuscript into a garbage can.
I Was Deceived
It was dusk. My wife and I had just strolled across the famous Charles Bridge in Prague when a man approached us with a wad of money in his hand. "Forty-two Czech korunas for one dollar," he said. The official rate was about 35Ks for one US dollar. So I exchanged 50 dollars for 2,100 Czech korunas.
How Deserving Are We?
I remember the day our secondhand refrigerator finally broke down. As a young newlywed employed by a Christian ministry, I didn't have much money to spend on repairs. Not knowing where to turn for reliable help, I called a friend in the electrical business. He assured me that he would handle the problem. Later that evening, I found a brand-new refrigerator in our kitchen. I asked myself, "What did I do to deserve such help?"
Planting Good Seeds
As a new gardener, I soon learned that uncultivated soil was resistant to seed planting and growth. But when I planted good seeds in well-prepared soil, heaven's sun and rain did their part until the harvest came. Well-prepared soil, the right seeds, and God's blessing are essential for fruitfulness, not only in gardening but also in Christian living.
An End To Revenge
The newspaper headline read: NO END TO CYCLE OF REVENGE IN MIDEAST. In the wake of suicide bombings and military retaliation, the article told of a 28-year-old man consumed with avenging his uncle's death. "When someone dear to you is killed," he said, "you can't sleep; you have to do something." But even after killing two men he considered enemies, he still had no sense of satisfaction. No one can ever win by trying to even the score.
