It’s what you do next that matters.
“I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:6).
Mark Palenske, pastor of Greers Ferry First Assembly of God Church in Arkansas, and his wife, Dena, were sick with Covid-19 for two weeks. Dena was hospitalized for several days but is recovering at home as of March 25. Even before the virus struck him and 34 members of his congregation, Palenske took the warnings seriously and suspended services at the church. Even so, the virus spread. Tuesday, March 24, one of their beloved members,…
April has been designated Stress Awareness Month since 1992, a result of research on the effects of stress that dates back to the 1970s. Good to know. But if there were ever an April that we didn’t need to be reminded of our stress, this would be it. The good news is that this month you can find lots of practical advice to help you cope with stress, and much of it will help while…
Remember that day in January 2018 when Hawaiians were notified to “seek immediate shelter” from an incoming ballistic missile? The event caused mass panic on the islands and alarmed friends and family members all over the world. And actor Jim Carrey was there. In a recent interview with Graham Norton, Carrey was pitching his book Memoirs and Misinformation, and he explained to Norton the odd photo on the front of the book. “There was a…
February 5 legendary actor Kirk Douglas passed away at 103 years old. His movie roles spanned more than six decades, and actors and filmmakers today are still shaped by some of his iconic roles. But Douglas himself was impacted by a much different, and more traumatic, event. One that would forever shape his life. Just over 29 years before a helicopter crash took the life of Kobe Bryant, Douglas was in a similar crash. But…
For me, I was around 50. I suddenly realized that more highway was behind me than out front, more life lived than yet to go. Maybe I had just been running too fast to notice how far I had traveled, but nevertheless, I paused the pace and soaked it in. This realization is so common, we have a name for it—a mid-life crisis. Dartmouth College professor David Blanchflower conducted an extensive study that suggests that…
In study after study, psychologists have echoed a biblical truth: Gratitude is good for you. For instance, a 2018 exploringyourmind.com article declared, “Gratitude is good for you — amazingly healthy for those who practice it. Being grateful not only helps us cultivate emotional well-being and regulate stress, but also has a positive impact on our physical health.” According to the article, some of the benefits of cultivating gratitude include lowering your stress, increasing the desire…
Who would think that a hug would go viral? This one did. And for good reason. On October 1 Amber Guyger was convicted of killing Botham Jean as he sat in his apartment watching a football game. At the time of the shooting, Guyger was an off-duty Dallas police office, and she claimed that she did not know she was in the wrong apartment when she walked into Botham’s home and shot him. Convicted of…
The Christian world was rocked by the September 11 announcement that mega-church pastor Jarrid Wilson, who spoke openly about his mental illness, took his own life. No attempt was made by the press, family, or friends to veil what had happened. In a final act directly related to his depression, the popular young Christian leader committed suicide. Since his heartbreaking death, multiple blogs and articles have focused on the high rates of depression among pastors.…
We are at the mid-point of the US Open Tennis Championship. But before fans even gathered at Flushing Meadows, NY, commentators were already reminiscing about last year’s women’s final and Serena Williams’ angry diatribe, in which she branded chair umpire Carlos Ramos a “liar” and a “thief.” During the 2018 final against Naomi Osaka, Williams was slapped with a code violation for receiving coaching. She disagreed, became angry, her game started to fall apart, and…
According to the website areavibes.com, the crime rate in San Francisco, CA, is “151% higher than the national average. For every 100,000 people, there are 18.86 daily crimes that occur in San Francisco. . . .In San Francisco you have a 1 in 15 chance of becoming a victim of any crime.” Yet, in August city officials decided to sanitize language referring to criminals. The Board of Supervisors is purging the city’s vocabulary of words…