Kindess Grows
The film Pay It Forward imagines what can happen if everyone gave someone an act of kindness that could not be paid back and then all those people did the same thing to another person.
Living Without Fear
What would you do if you had no fear? “NPR podcast Invisibilia tackled that question in its second episode by talking to Antonio Damasio, a University of Southern California neuroscientist who has treated a woman—referred to as SM—with an inability to feel fear. SM suffers from Urbach-Wiethe disease, placing her among a group of only about 400 people on the planet with the condition.”
While fear can be a healthy emotion, it can also keep us, at times, from trusting God. What would you do if you completely trusted God and couldn’t feel fear?
Mindfulness
In this time when multi-tasking is so popular, we often forget how valuable being single-minded can be. When we focus on one mission, we are easily able to push away
Anxious Faith
“Surely, while we teach that faith ought to be certain and assured, we cannot imagine any certainty that is not tinged with doubt, or any assurance
Stop, Wait, Don’t Panic
“There is no panic in Heaven! God has no problems, only plans.” – Corrie ten Boom
“The Calling”
One episode of The Jim Gaffigan Show, “The Calling,” examines how one’s calling can vastly differ from one’s gifts or placement.
God’s Promises
“God does not give us everything we want, but He does fulfill His promises, leading us along the best and straightest paths to Himself.”
Adversity
“Comfort and prosperity have never enriched the world as much as adversity has.” – Billy Graham
The Sanctification Spiral
In an article about sanctification for The Gospel Coalition, Wendy Alsup writes, “When you feel ‘stuck,’ when you feel like you are continually rehearsing the same struggles,
God Is Worthy
Elisabeth Elliot was considered one of the most influential Christian women in the 20th century. She was the wife of martyred missionary Jim Elliot and after his death,
The Master Storyteller
“Somehow we realize that great stories are told in conflict, but we are unwilling to embrace the potential greatness of the story we are actually in.
We Have Jesus
“You don’t really know Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have.”- Timothy Keller, Walking with God through Pain and Suffering
When Trials Come
“When trials come no longer fear
For in the pain our God draws near
To fire a faith worth more than gold
God’s Best
“We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be.”- C.S. Lewis
Ex Nihilo
Blow up a balloon, and mark two “X” marks on it with a permanent marker. Place the marks a short distance away from each other.
Dramatic Irony
The video below provides a great definition of dramatic irony—when an audience is in on a secret that the characters in a story don’t yet know.
God’s Work
“The reason why many are still troubled, still seeking, still making little forward progress is because they haven’t yet come to the end of themselves.
Laughing in Trouble
In 2010, Laura Hillenbrand released a book entitled Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption.