Just Continue That Thought...

A thought by John Ortberg (2015-05-05) from his book, Life-Changing Love: Moving God's Love from Your Head to Your Heart (p. 145). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) That is so true.  As John says, “We need some people who accept us, welcome us, and love us, no matter what. I need some grace-providers. You do too. You need them because you have other kinds of people in your life. You have some ‘grace-impaired’ people in your life, who will judge you and critique you and remind you of your raggedness in ways that will tear you down.” He then says, “How do you recognize these grace-providers? Grace-providers notice things about you; they pay attention to your heart and life. Grace-providers speak truthfully to you — both easy words and hard ones. Grace-providers are not people who only say what you want to hear, but they speak the truth in love. Grace-providers simply never cease to love you. They see beneath the surface; t

A thought by Larry Osborne (2015-04-01) from his book, Thriving in Babylon: Why Hope, Humility, and Wisdom Matter in a Godless Culture (Kindle Location 1552). David C. Cook. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) I’m not really sure where we get our definitions of some words.  Larry shared that there was one particular person who “saw respect as a one-way street. She demanded it from others, but she gave it sparingly. They had to earn it. Her approach to life and others was the antithesis of biblical humility.” He then goes on to say that biblical humility “goes much deeper than the hollow ‘yes, sir’ or ‘no, sir’ of a Southern gentleman. It’s the real deal, a heartfelt deference that comes from the recognition that everyone bears the image of God, no matter how marred that image might be.” Larry in dealing here with Daniel and his time in the evil city of Babylon says, “This is the kind of respect that Daniel and his three friends show

A thought by John Ortberg (2015-05-05) from his book, Life-Changing Love: Moving God'sLove from Your Head to Your Heart (p. 120). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) I know this is true of a lot of marriages.  It seems the romance is gone.  There just is no more emotion.  John shares, “An elderly couple lies in bed. She is not satisfied with the distance between them. She reminds him, ‘When we were young, you used to hold my hand in bed.’ He hesitates, but in a few moments a wrinkled hand snakes across the bed and grasps hers. She is not satisfied. ‘When we were young, you used to cuddle right up next to me.’ More serious hesitation now. But eventually, with a few groans, he laboriously turns his body and cradles hers as best he can. She is not satisfied. ‘When we were young, you used to nibble on my ear.’ Loud sigh. He throws back the covers and bolts out of bed. She is somewhat hurt by this. ‘Where are you going?’ ‘To g

A thought by John Ortberg (2015-05-05) from his book, Life-Changing Love: Moving God'sLove from Your Head to Your Heart (p. 111). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) A few weeks back, our middle aged granddaughter and I were heading across LA to Monterey Park to pick up Gigi, her grandma and my wife, from work.  Now the going to pick her up is probably to most difficult trip each day I take.  LA traffic at that time of the day can be a challenge and it was that day so Addison was asking me, “Papa, are we there yet?”  Now I can be an annoying Papa but also a fun Papa.  So we played the game of, “No, we’re here right now but not there, yet.”  We had a fun time back and forth, together. Now I love the app, Waze.  It looks at the traffic and it doesn’t take you straight to where you want to go but it takes you the best possible way.  During the busy traffic times it takes you off the Freeway onto other roads.  It can really be

A thought by John Ortberg (2015-05-05) from his book, Life-Changing Love: Moving God's Love from Your Head to Your Heart (p. 108). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Do realize one of the main differences between us and God is this fact?  I mean if the food isn’t perfect, we gripe.  What about the music at church or even the Pastor’s message?  It is so easy for us to pick at it and not be grateful.  What about our house, our car, our job, our wife/husband, our kids or our body?  John says, “I must learn to be grateful for all the ‘slightly imperfect’ gifts in my life. If I withhold my gratitude in hopes of receiving the perfect spouse, child, body, or birthday present, I will never be grateful at all.”  Do you realize that?  “I will never be grateful at all.” But he then says, “God himself chooses to delight in imperfect gifts — in you and me. Even though our hearts are flawed and shadowed, even though we give them t

A thought by John Ortberg (2015-05-05) from his book, Life-Changing Love: Moving God's Love from Your Head to Your Heart (p. 81). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Now it is so easy for us to live life and have things go wrong and want to play the blame game.  It’s not my fault, it’s _____’s fault. But blaming really is to be lame.  We are each responsible for our own house.  But we really do love to blame our parents, our boss, the government, our circumstances and even God.  But “we are each one of us responsible for our own house” or character or soul. We are all of us constructing a life. John says, “Every commitment I make, every friendship I enter, every skill that I cultivate or neglect, every promise I honor or break, becomes a part of my house. You are constructing your life. The quality of the choices you make will determine the quality of your character, your soul.” Larry also says, “Some people are so af

A thought by John Ortberg (2015-05-05) from his book, Life-Changing Love: Moving God's Love from Your Head to Your Heart (p. 73). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) We all need do-overs, don’t we?  Paul over in Romans says, “All have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory.”  All is a universal term.  Everyone has sinned.  We all have fallen short.  We all need a do-over.  We all need to take a mulligan. But so many of us look at our failures and just want to give up.  I’ve sinned, I don’t deserve a do-over.  I blew it.  But that is not the way God looks at it. John tells a story. “Warren Bennis wrote about a promising junior executive at IBM who was involved in a risky venture for the company and ended up losing ten million dollars in the gamble. He was called into the office of Tom Watson Sr., the founder and leader of IBM for forty years, a business legend. The junior exec, overwhelmed with guilt and fear, blurted