If It’s Good, It’s From God

  If it’s good, it’s from God. When was the last time you enjoyed a good cup of coffee or your favorite cold drink? Do you have warm, pleasant memories of good times with your family or friends over the holidays? Is your life good? Do you enjoy relatively good health? Do you have enough good food to eat? Do you sometimes stop to ponder how good you really have it? What about all that’s not good, the evil in the world? I’m very aware of the fact that there is […]

New Year

I answered the phone and the friendly, familiar voice on the other end said, “Cos, happy New Year.” I responded in kind and a few minutes later returned to what I was doing.  I began the first day of 2022 as I have begun almost every day for many years; writing in my journal, scripture, and prayer. As I meditated on the significance of the New Year, I became aware of a deep, comforting reality about my life. To me, there’s no such thing as New Year Magic. But I […]

God Is With Us

God is with us! Personalize that idea a bit and say it out loud, “God is with me!”  I don’t know about you, but I assume you are about as human as I am. Any stress in your life? These last several months, and particularly the days leading up to Christmas, have been some of the most stressful I’ve experienced in a long time. Besides the self-imposed pressure of getting my book launched in early spring, I have recently undergone oral surgery to remove a broken tooth, my computer is […]

Love Gives

Love gives.  Christmas is about giving. The Christmas message is about the generous love of God. In a conversation with his nighttime visitor, Jesus speaks of his own birth in a lowly, smelly Bethlehem manger, “For God loved the world so much he gave his only son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).” In this Advent season, I want to remind each of us to think deeply about how love gives. As we consider the kind of love God gives, it is […]

What is the Test of Love?

What is the test of love? Love is a much overused word. I hear people use “love” to talk about food, cars, a TV show, the weather, a singer or actor, “making love,” or a special vacation spot. I think we have diluted the word love to the point that we don’t give much thought to its true meaning. We often use the word to express a good feeling about and our like for or admiration for something or someone. Many confuse infatuation with the idea of love. So, what […]

Life Lessons: Learning to Listen (2)

Learning to listen is important in building important relationships. Now, let’s continue with our life lesson on a skill that is so important to our relationships, LISTENING. Surely you have experienced the difference between being listened to and being heard. It is highly probable that you have been on both sides of such situations. Recall a time when you believed the other person attempted to listen to you. How did you feel? How did you think this experience helped you? Now, can you recall a situation when you were trying […]

Life Lesson: Learn to Listen to Others

It’s getting close to “crunch time” in my life! The editorial process for my book is about over and the marketing push will be revving up pretty soon. The release date for Heaven’s Currency: Investing in the Things That Matter Most will be late February or early March 2022. Next week I will be able to give you a peek at the beautiful cover for the book. In the meanwhile, please be thinking about friends and family members who could benefit from the paperback or ebook. The central issue of life […]

What Momma Said

  While shopping in a big box store recently I was assisted by an elderly man named Bob. He was very helpful, friendly, and brimming with stories about his life. This type of encounter can make the task of shopping more enjoyable for me, so I listened, and listened, and listened until I left the parking lot.  One of the things he told me about was the wild side of his life as a pro wrestler for several years. He described this period as living on the dark side of […]

Do You Remember?

What do you do to help you remember the important things you want to get done?  I get so busy at times that I don’t remember where I put something. For example, several years ago while working on a project in the garage, I lost a knife Dad gave me. Later, I realized this important gift was missing but had no idea where it was. Several years later, I reached for something on top of the water heater and there it was!! I had not remembered putting it there. I […]

Is God in the Details?

  There is an old cautionary statement related to contracts and business transactions that says, “The devil is in the details.” I take this to mean we need to read and understand the contingencies related to the deal we are making before we sign our name to the paper. In the housing crisis a decade ago lots of people lost their houses because they didn’t pay attention to the fact their sub-prime loan rate would change, resulting in much higher mortgage payments. The devil was in the details. I don’t […]