Last week I held a team-building exercise for my department. We were focusing on goal-setting, and beginning the process of creating vision boards. During the course of our initial discussion, we were sharing some of the ways we are motivated. Things like, words of affirmation, accomplishing a task, having a stable environment, and the accountability produced when others are depending on our performance. As a manager and as a leader, I have found that helping people come to an awareness of why they are doing what they do is crucial to encouraging critical thinking and problem solving as they encounter challenges in accomplishing tasks and meeting expectations. We should be…

“Bless the Lord, my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name.” (Psalm 103:1 NASB) I am so grateful for the Word of God that teaches me to pray. This verse speaks to me often, no matter what I am experiencing or where I am in the journey. It’s the “all that is within me” part that comforts me today. You see, like you, I am a complex individual, believing the Lord lives and also at the mercy of my frail humanity. Nevertheless, Jesus rules and reigns over all things, even those things in me that are not in line with His Word and His heart. So,…

It’s snowing. Way down here in the South, the woods behind my house are whitening in the cold stillness. Mind you, earlier today there was rain and a ferocious wind. The storm came before the calm. As I watched the trees, bending alarmingly and swaying with agitation, I marveled that they held. Their roots, strong and deep, kept them from toppling, and the supple fiber of their branches kept them from breaking. So when the wind ceased and snow began to fall, there they stood, heads high and arms outstretched, to receive the silent beauty bestowed upon them by their maker. Oh Lord, grant that I should be such a…

One week into our church-wide fast, I am struggling with the reality that I don’t do this well. There continue to be evidences that I default to comforts and distractions rather than seek His presence. As I look back over the years of this annual interruption to routine, I am aware that I enter into it every time with eagerness and anticipation, only to find that I am more needy than I realized. Why is it I get so comfortable with myself, even my weaknesses and foibles, that I forget to remember who He is? The sad estate of the human heart requires constant prayer and daily cleansing. I say…

Here we are. The beginning of a new year is always so full of hope. For most it is a time to re-evaluate priorities, set goals, and resolve to develop new and better habits. And this is usually done in quick-start fashion. Also, for most, those endeavors lose momentum within a few short weeks. I’m grateful that I don’t rest upon my own resolve for better living. I rest upon the reality that Jesus purchased a better life for me, and I live day to day in the confidence that all the power required to change my heart and my habits resides in His able hands and faithful will. Does…