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Five Phrases We Should Finish Every Day

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I have been thinking for a while now about the little things we could do to make a big difference to those we touch every day. This includes our kids, co-workers, friends and those we don’t know but brush by during our daily activity.

How can we get our hearts and heads around living out what God put in? I think an easy reminder for each of us is below. Simply finishing the phrases could put feet to our faith and make a difference in us as well as those around us. With that in mind here are 5 Phrases We Should Finish Every Day.


1. Today I am thanking God for…

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Why Thankfulness Will Change Your Life

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The Story: Ten Lepers Luke 17:11-19


Cleansed

When He saw them, He said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they were going, they were cleansed. Luke 17:14 NASBStr

Cleansed: The Greek word for cleansed is Katharizō which means, “to cleanse: to make clean.” (From Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance) The idea of this word is to wash away a physical stain or dirt. The words is used 17 times in the Gospels and is used of lepers, pharisees

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Why It’s Important To Be WITH Not Just FOR Someone + Video

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When Jesus Came Into The World He Was WITH Us
And they will call him Immanuel, which means God is with us. Matthew 1:23b NLTse

When Jesus Left This World He Said He Is WITH Us
And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Matthew 28:20b NLTse

Jesus isn’t just FOR us, He is WITH us and to me that makes a huge difference in how I live my life. He is not distant, he is fully present. There are people in my life who aren’t just FOR me, they are WITH me. I usually

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Parents & Leaders: Why A Laugh A Day Is The Right Way + Video

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There is a time to cry and a time to laugh. Ecclesiastes 3:4a NCV

“You need to stop that humor stuff, it’s taking away from God’s message!” That was the advice written to me on the comment card that was dropped into the offering plate as it went by then delivered to my office on Monday morning. I still remember the man’s name, “Unknown.” Yes, he actually wrote the name “Unknown.”

As I stared at the words I felt like a failure, I felt hurt, I felt pain. You see, ”There is a time to cry.”

Now, as I retell this story both in writing and speaking around the country I can’t help

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7 Words That Will Change Your Life - Number 4: Expect + Video

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Expect [ik-spekt]
Verb

"to look forward to; regard as likely to happen; anticipate the occurrence or the coming of"

The above definition was taken from Dictionary.com. I like what it has to say for the most part. When we expect something to happen we anticipate it, we look forward to it we do this because we think it’s likely to happen. I guess that’s where the definition goes a little sideways for me.

From a Biblical perspective the idea of expect carry’s with it something a little more than “likely” to happen. How about a “Confident Assurance” that something

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A Small Word With Big Impact For Parents and Leaders + Video

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What’s the word?
It’s AND.
Yep, that’s it, AND.
It’s a small word and it packs a big punch if we really embrace what it has to offer. Let’s take a look.

Dialectical Thinking: What is it, how does it work, what does it have to do with “AND?”

When thinking dialectically the key word that comes to mind is the word AND. When there are seemingly opposing views dialectical thinking allows us to hold the moment in neutral instead of passing judgment or giving an opinion. It’s the ability to view what appears to be opposing issues with a neutral perspective allowing us to seek to understand rather

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Parents & Leaders: Courage and Why We Need It + Video

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The Etymology of Courage

The prefix Cor is from Latin which means heart. Dr. Brene Brown would define Courage as “The ability to tell the story of who you are with your whole heart.” In other words, courage is being vulnerable.

You may have heard it said that you can’t have courage without fear. If this is true then what are we afraid of given this definition of courage? I think we are afraid of being authentic! What if someone knows who I really am?

Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 12:9 MSG that our strength comes from revealing our weakness. "And then he told me, My grace is enough; it's all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness. Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ's strength moving in on my weakness."

The problem is we all have some type of fear that causes each of us to look, think, walk, talk in a way that is different from who we really are. It’s what I call a fear veneer. We want others to see