In his novel, One Hundred Years of Solitude Gabriel Garcia Marquez writes about a strange disease that slowly infiltrated the old village of Macondo from somewhere in the surrounding swamp. It was a form of insomnia that attacks the whole town. The initial effect is the inability of people to sleep, although the villagers do […]
In the story of Abraham, in the book of Genesis – after the birth of Ishmael, Abraham waits 13 years for another word from the Lord. 13 years of silence. Abraham is an old man at this point. God has promised him an heir, and he knows it is not Ishmael. So Abraham waits in […]
Let me say how grateful we are to those who make gifts that enable this ministry to touch so many. Your generous support is a real God-send. In his book, Holy Sweat, Tim Hansel tells a story about a time he and his son Zac were out in the country climbing around on some cliffs. […]
John Ortberg tells the story of a friend who made his first trip south of the Mason-Dixon Line from Chicago to Georgia. On his first morning in the South, he went into a restaurant to order breakfast, and it seemed that every dish included something called grits…which, as my Tennessee friends tell me, is exactly […]
My friend Robert McCrary used to have a prayer attached to a bulletin board in his office titled “Hands.” The content speaks of transformation and grace. It moves from a preoccupation with the self to a love of others. The author is unknown, and today, we will make it our message and our prayer. As […]
Today is the second day of the giving challenge put together by the Patterson Foundation of Sarasota. If you able to give, until noon today – every gift to Dial Hope up to $100 is matched by their foundation. Go to our website – www.dialhope.org to find out more. Mother Theresa offers us that brilliant […]
Today is the giving challenge put together by the Patterson Foundation of Sarasota. If you able to give, starting at noon today – every gift to Dial Hope up to $100 is matched by their foundation. Go to our website – www.dialhope.org to find out more. I recently listened to a TED talk given by […]
Pastor Bill Bouknight tells the story of a prominent minister who was holding a weekend seminar at Lake Junaluska, North Carolina. He kept noticing a man in the front row nodding off, and this aggravated him. He wondered why the man didn’t stay home if he couldn’t stay awake? During the lunch break, a woman […]
There is an old family Circus comic that depicted the little boy sharing with his sister, “Yesterday is the past, tomorrow is the future, but today is a gift. That’s why they call it the present.” Today is a present. Today we have 24 un-used, brand-new hours to love deeply, to serve others, to show […]
Many years ago now, I remember reading an article in our local newspaper about a woman Barbara Gilbert. At that time, Barbara was a single mom, part-time college student, and a waitress. She worked two part time jobs just to pay rent. At some point, Barbara learned about people down in Jamaica who have almost […]
