Let Go!
A 14-year-old North Carolina boy refused to stop playing his Nintendo Game Boy during school hours. The principal was called in and he still refused to stop. When the school liaison officer tried to search him, the teen kicked and punched him. The police were summoned, yet the boy adamantly resisted. Only after the officers gave him two shocks from a Taser gun were they able to remove the toy from him. He was uninjured, but one officer was bitten by the boy.
Don't Make News!
A story in our local newspaper reported that a $1.73 billion highway and mass transit project in Denver, Colorado, was nearing completion on schedule and within the budget. But the story wasn't on the front page. In fact, it was tucked into a sidebar of brief summaries in small type on page 3 of the local news section. If the project had been plagued by fraud, delays, and cost overruns, no doubt it would have been headline news.
Reach Out To The Young
Darmeisha didn't like the neighbor woman Suzanne, but she still knocked at her door frequently. She was an unhappy 8-year-old who seemed to enjoy mocking people. Most of their conversations ended with Suzanne telling her that she needed to go home.
A World In Labor
Every now and then the earth lets out a moan. Sometimes it's more of a scream, like a mother giving birth.
Seven "Ones"
Have you ever worked at a job where you felt a strong bond with your co-workers? Perhaps you were united by a sense of mission, or by a respect for your boss, or by the belief that a prosperous company will benefit everyone financially. The more points of agreement among members of a group, the more they will be unified, the better they will perform, and the less likely they will be to fight among themselves.
Speak And Do
In ancient Greek dramas, a person behind a curtain spoke the lines while the performer on stage acted out the role. We might refer to the speaker behind the scenes as one who didn't "practice what he preached."
The Right Focus
We call life's older years the "sunset years." But are they really that rosy? For some, they are. But for many others, even Christians, the sunset years may become clouded with bitterness or despair.
A Past Long Gone
According to the English novelist Aldous Huxley, "There are no back moves on the chessboard of life." Yet we remain aware of things we have done and things we have left undone. Our sins worry us. They motivate us to wish fervently that somehow we could undo the past.
Try A Little Kindness
Cornelius, a first-century Roman military official, was assigned the task of maintaining order in turbulent Judea. Most Romans of that time believed in many gods—but not Cornelius. He feared the one true God, gave generously to the needy, and prayed regularly (Acts 10:2). Even though the Jewish people didn't accept him as one of their own, God recognized him as one of His. Cornelius agreed with God about what was good and he acted accordingly.
