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If you use The Bridge Bible reading plan, as I do, you read Proverbs 20:3 today, “It is to one’s honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel” (NIV). I thought, how rare this is for people in general, and even Christians in particular. We are so quick to argue, even to insert ourselves into other people’s arguments. There is a way of thinking out there that implies not doing so is being a coward. “You’ve got to stand up for yourself!” “Stand up for what you bel

As we’ve been studying Jesus’ ministry in the Gospel of Mark, we’ve learned that Jesus openly proclaimed this world is not really ours, and that for his followers, our home is in heaven. But living in this world, we still have responsibilities and should fulfill them faithfully. That includes, as temporal citizens of the United States, voting for candidates we believe would bless the people best, and even engaging in discourse regarding the issues (in person… NOT online !).Ho

I mentioned to a friend of mine that a person I knew was worth millions. This friend responded, “You are only worth as much as you give.”“A car or a house is only worth what someone is willing to give for it. A person is worth only as much as they give away.”How much are you worth?I’ve known a lot of poor people who are worth more than the super rich. You are worth a lot when you give a lot.You see, your value is not based on how talented you are, how smart you are, how many

In a few days, the election will be over. You might be reading this and feeling anxiety over who will be the victor, or even if we will have a clear election winner.It seems that there is more anxiety over this election than I’ve sensed in years’ past. Four years ago, there was a huge divide in people’s emotional reaction to the result, because most of us were certain of the outcome, even though we wound up being wrong. And we immediately felt the huge divide in the country,

Sorry for the misleading title picture. I’m not talking about Thursday’s presidential debate. I think there’s mixed reviews on how good that was. But I am convinced that debates can be and should be healthy. If you are surrounded only by people who always agree with you, then you don’t even know what you really believe. If everyone agrees with you, you’ve never been challenged. It’s not until you have to articulate your views and thought process that leads to those views, bef

Our most recent family addition is Remy Iris, our daughter and son-in-law’s little girl. She’s 3 months old and she loves to smile. In fact, I often catch her staring at me (or whoever else is nearby), waiting for me to look at her. As soon as I make eye contact, she breaks into a big grin. It’s as though she craves human interaction and knows that she can get it by smiling.Babies learn this very early in life. They get added attention and affection when they smile (they get

I don’t think I’ve ever been to Rochelle before. I’d heard of it, but never had a reason to go there. It’s a small town just south of Rockford, about an hour and a half drive from my house.Linda and I went to Rochelle for dinner at a restaurant that we had only heard was there, but knew nothing about whether or not the food was good. The food was good. It was just a hamburger. A good one, and very good sweet potato fries. But a simple dinner that we could have enjoyed much cl

We’ve all talked about it…how this virus has changed our lives, and changed the world we live in. Most of us have said it, and we’ve all heard it dozens of times, “I just want this to be over.” And we’ve had the conversations about whether or not it ever will be over, or if life has changed in many ways, forever.But there are some things that have not changed, and will not change. Those are the things that matter most. People cannot live without God. We are absolutely, 100%

This week, we were reminded once again that death is a reality for all of us. And it’s probably going to come sooner than we think. Two long-time members of our church passed away. While they were seniors, we also tragically lost a young man who has been active in our high school youth group. He and his family are long-time friends of our church, wonderful people, and they did not see this coming. I can’t imagine their grief right now.But it’s got me thinking about death. Thi

"What’s my purpose at work?” someone recently asked. I get it. So much is in flux, and the future right now is uncertain. A lot of us feel disoriented with life. Many of our constants are either gone, uncertain, or at the very least, unsettled. Some of you are not sure where your job is going in the months ahead, or if you will even still have one. Family life has changed. We have lost touch with many of our community activities (much of which have been based on school and ch

It happened again. Someone I looked up to, someone who seemed to have a nearly perfect home. They were so good together, had good jobs, a nice house, great kids. Now a total marriage meltdown.It started with a line that was crossed. If you and your spouse never cross this line, the chances of seeing your marriage destroyed by an affair are minuscule, and it is highly unlikely that your marriage will end in a divorce.Because in every affair, there's a line that is crossed, and

I get it. You need a change of scenery. Maybe a move across town…or better yet…to a different state. Maybe it’s time for a job change. You just know that it’s time for change. A friend of mine felt that urge. Life seemed like it had hit the doldrums and he wanted a change of scenery for himself and his family. He put together his resume and got a job offer in another state, a place he thought he’d rather live. So he and his wife quit their jobs, pulled their kids out of schoo