Open Door Open Heart
I traveled to Minsk, the capital of Belarus, to speak at a regional conference for pastors. It was one of those rare trips when everything went right. Planes arrived and left on time. No trouble getting through customs. I was treated warmly and graciously.
The Listening Prayer
How do you feel when you talk with someone who isn't listening to you? It can happen with a friend who has his own plans for how a conversation should go. Or it can happen when the other person simply doesn't want to hear what you have to say.
Companions Or Competitors?
The French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980) had nothing but disdain for the concept of companionship. He saw all people as competitors. According to this view, people are always striving with one another in a kind of continual rivalry.
Our Starts And Stops
As children, we loved to hear three words shouted in slow succession before running a race on the playground: "Ready . . . Set . . . Go!" But have you ever been running along at top speed and heard the signal: "Ready . . . Set . . . Stop"?
Real People
Author Ronald Rood visited a class of second-graders and gave a slide presentation of a Hawaiian volcano. The pictures showed molten lava pouring into the sea and steam rising a mile into the air. The scene was so graphic that the children could almost hear the roar. Rood then passed around a piece of lava for the youngsters to examine. After it was handled by two dozen hands, one little boy brought the rock back to the front. Carefully cradling it in his hand, he exclaimed with wide eyes, "Mr. Rood, it's still warm!"
Brilliant Thoughts
A kind friend who knows my tastes and reading interests gave me a fascinating book for my birthday. It's called The Most Brilliant Thoughts Of All Time. There's no question about the wit and wisdom of the short sayings it contains. But are they the most brilliant thoughts of all time?
It Takes Teamwork!
During a rehearsal at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City, the renowned conductor Arturo Toscanini offered some constructive criticism to the featured soloist. She was too proud to accept his help, however, and expressed her resentment by exclaiming in anger, "I am the star of this performance!" Toscanini responded wisely and firmly, "Madame, in this performance there are no stars."
'The Best Is Yet To Be'
Oswald Chambers loved the poetry of Robert Browning and often quoted a phrase from the poem Rabbi Ben Ezra: "The best is yet to be, the last of life for which the first was made. Our times are in His hand."
Nothing But Grace
In 1914, before the use of insulin injections, Corrie ten Boom's Aunt Jans was diagnosed with diabetes. She knew that she did not have long to live. Yet, within a few days after learning this, she went right back to working in God-honoring causes. Several months later, a blood test indicated that the end was near.
