Early this morning, I read an article by John Ortberg entitled, “A River Runs Through It” (Conversations, 7.2, Fall/Winter 2009). I was sitting at our kitchen table with a fresh cup of coffee as I began to read this article. Each morning since receiving this new issue of Conversations, I have read a different article… Continue reading If You Need to be Refreshed
Tag: Encouragment
Make a Difference: 4 Ways to Encourage
Who has been one of your most important encouragers? For some of us, the encouragement that God provided through someone else has been the critical link between what we were doing and what we are doing now. Henri Nouwen tells the story of a sculptor whose studio was next door to the home of a… Continue reading Make a Difference: 4 Ways to Encourage
The Silence that Kills
Silence is not always golden. Sometimes it is deadly. The following are some occasions when silence does its damage: You work for a small company. You have been a loyal, dependable employee for the last ten years. You have had a variety of jobs in this company. No matter what you have been asked to… Continue reading The Silence that Kills
Beauty in a Housing Project
(The following post was written by my younger daughter, Jamie, who is a social worker. She recently witnessed a beautiful marriage–in a setting you might not expect.) My job as a home-based social worker allows me the opportunity to see very unusual or difficult situations on a daily basis. Once, for example, I walked into… Continue reading Beauty in a Housing Project
In the Presence of Good — Nicholas Winton (Part 2)
There is something about Nicholas Winton that I really admire. (If you haven’t read part one, you might want to do so before reading on.) Nicholas Winton was a 29-year-old clerk who worked for the London Stock Exchange. In 1938, after visiting Czechoslovakia, Winton had a deep concern for the welfare of children who were… Continue reading In the Presence of Good — Nicholas Winton (Part 2)
In the Presence of Good — Nicholas Winton (Part 1)
What kind of investment do you need to make today? Young Nicholas Winton was an ordinary 29-year-old man who was a clerk at the London Stock Exchange. His world was investments. However, he would soon make an investment of his own that would change many, many lives. The year was 1938. He had been invited… Continue reading In the Presence of Good — Nicholas Winton (Part 1)
The Kind of Friends I Really Need
Last week, we sat with about four hundred other people at one end of Court Street in Florence, Alabama. The occasion was the annual W. C. Handy Jazz Festival. (Florence is where Charlotte grew up and where her mother and sister/brother-in-law still live.) The annual W. C. Handy Festival is quite an event with jazz… Continue reading The Kind of Friends I Really Need
Three Suggestions for Discouragement
I called him one Sunday evening and told him that I really needed to talk. I admired my father-in-law and really wanted his advice. (He was a longtime minister and president of a small Bible college.) I was a young minister working with my first church and living in middle Tennessee. My in-laws lived about… Continue reading Three Suggestions for Discouragement
41 Things Encouragers Ought to Know (part four of four)
The following is the conclusion of a list I am calling: "41 Things Encouragers Ought to Know." You can find part one here, part two here, and part three here. 31. Encouragers need to know the power of listening. Some people just need someone to listen. 32. Encouragers need to know the power of paying… Continue reading 41 Things Encouragers Ought to Know (part four of four)