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).
Prior to the holidays, a large segment of the population, Gen Z, said they would rather avoid political discussion altogether by just skipping family gatherings. The Harris Poll on “political avoidance” The Harris Poll recently surveyed over 2,000 Americans and found that around half of Gen Zers would rather skip holiday family gatherings than be confronted with a political debate. And 38% said they dreaded such gatherings. The Harris Poll called this “political avoidance.” Gen…
More than seven years ago retired optometrist Terry Sanderson collided with actress Gwyneth Paltrow in a skiing accident on the slopes of Utah’s Deer Valley Resort. Two lawsuits later, Paltrow was vindicated. A jury found in her favor and instructed Sanderson to pay her a symbolic $1 and her attorney fees. Ok. But why is it that the media assumes the general public wants to know all of the newsy snippets about entertainers and stars?…
The film Jesus Revolution portrays the spiritual awakening of the 1960s and the way that one young man, Greg Laurie, was swept up, saved by grace, and called by God to be a Christian pastor and evangelist. Baptisms anchor the film, and the most pivotal is the baptism of Laurie (Joel Courtney). The depiction of Laurie’s baptism is a moving reminder of what we believe about death, burial, and resurrection. Though he is clutched firmly…
Having trouble hanging in there? Maybe as you go into 2023 you feel like you are leaking stamina, and you are giving way to giving up. If that’s you, read this. Making history On December 17, 1903, at 10:35 AM, two brothers made history and changed the way the world travels. And it took only 12 seconds. Well, sort of. Wilbur Wright stood on the sandy shore of Kitty Hawk, NC, and watched his brother,…
I live in a close-knit neighborhood. So, it’s no surprise that new residents quickly join our community’s Facebook group and start asking questions. And every year in October, someone asks, Do kids come to our community for Trick-or-Treating, and, if so, how many should we prepare for? The short answer is—all of them. Our nightmare is not the costumes. Our nightmare is the chaos and clogged roads. But we are just a microcosm of the…
Have regrets? Join the club. In May 2021, management professor Anthony Klutz coined the term “The Great Resignation” to describe the avalanche of employee resignations during and after Covid. Workers saw a new era forming, with remote jobs exploding in popularity and opportunity, and the labor force shifted toward a higher demand for such work-away-from-the-office jobs. But that was then. This is now. And The Great Resignation is collapsing in a landslide of regrets. Employees’…
You’ve celebrated the neckties and put away the teacups. Maybe you celebrated Father’s Day like you always have. But these are not the times they have always been. On April 19, the American Academy of Pediatrics published a new guide for teaching children about sex. Called “You-ology: A Puberty Guide for EVERY Body” the Academy asserts that the book aims “to talk about puberty in an inclusive way.” The book includes the chapters we might…
The “slap heard ‘round the world” has come to define this year’s Oscars, which aired March 27. Comedian Chris Rock was presenting the award for best documentary and preceded it with a monologue that included a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair loss, which is due to her alopecia. At first her husband, actor Will Smith, seemed to laugh at the jab. But then he abruptly strolled on stage and smacked Rock across the face.…
2022 is here! Are you struggling with big decisions? Small decisions? God’s will for your life? If so, don’t ask President Joe Biden what to do. Because he has no idea. On December 22, President Biden was interviewed by ABC anchor David Muir, who asked Biden if he intended to seek reelection. Biden promised in 2020 that he would serve eight years if he was elected, so it was a fair question. Biden responded, “Yes,…
Even a web site like “Mercury: Your Daily Emerald Blog,” which is a hodgepodge of New Age, self-centered tripe, can get it right now and then. Or, at least, come close. A 2016 blog on the site offered “7 Lessons from Famous People About Forgiving Others.” The “famous people” ranged from Jennifer Aniston to Joel Osteen to Oprah Winfree to Nelson Mandela. And the reasons the celebrities talked about forgiveness varied as much as the…