We left Sunday after church on our way to Memphis for Thanksgiving. A few observations: It's really cheap to stay at the Ramada Inn in Salina. $49/night with breakfast. The toll roads through Tulsa have too much construction. Hideaway Pizza in Tulsa is worth the stop. Kansas looks just like Oklahoma. And now we're here and probably headed to Graceland.
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In the house I grew up in, there is a hole in the bathroom door. It was the result of one brother swinging a baseball bat at another brother. Fortunately, the door closed before the bat met its intended destination. The door was never fixed or replaced. Instead, the hole served as a visible reminder of how unresolved conflict can leave lasting damage -- not just to a house but to a heart. You know what I'm talking about. Perhaps you still carry the wounds of words that were slung at you years ago. You might dread coming home from work. A temper flare-up has left you scorched. Conflict that has been simmering for years is starting to boil. This weekend I will be sharing advice from God's word about how to resolve conflict in a healthy manner. We will never eliminate conflict; but we can learn to handle it…
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When Philip K. Wrigley succeeded his father as chairman of the Chicago-based chewing gum company, he continued the firm's practice of heavily spending money on advertising to create and maintain consumer demand. During an airline flight one day, a seatmate asked him why he continued to spend so much money on advertising a product that was already one of the best-known in the world. Wrigley quickly replied, "For the same reason the pilot of this plane keeps the engine running when we're already 29,000 feet up." (Source: Louis E. Boone, "Quotable Business," Random House). What engine do you need to keep running? For the church to stay in flight, individual believers must stay on mission. Putting in a good word for Jesus is the fuel that keeps the engine running. For a marriage to stay in flight, husbands and wives must work on the little things and deal quickly…
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As parents, we have a wonderful opportunity to speak into the lives of our children at crucial times. Our words carry the power of life; they can also create wounds that may last a lifetime. We have always spoken to our girls in terms of "when you go to college" instead of "if you go to college." In this way, it becomes an expected next step in life. It also reinforces our belief in their capabilities and potential. It's part of creating a culture of positive expectation. When talking about taking a family vacation to Europe or Hawaii, we often joke that "when you become a big-short attorney you can take all four of us." I have no assumption either girl will be an attorney (nor do I really want them to be), but it's another way of conveying to them ... "You are capable of great things." As a…
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