To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here Hope is life’s extraordinary antidote for discouragement. That doesn’t mean that success always comes easily. Winston Churchill was once asked what most prepared him to sustain his lonely fight against Adolph Hitler throughout the 1930’s (when many British leaders saw no danger in the Nazi regime), and how he found the courage to rally… Read more »
To listen to this reflection as a podcast, click here. In 1965, guitarist Stephen Stills noticed an ad in Variety magazine. A casting company for a new music-oriented TV show was seeking “four insane boys, ages 17-21.” Stills decided to audition. His music skills were excellent, but his misshapen teeth and ratty hair were not what the producers were looking for. He returned… Read more »
When author and pastor Rob Bell was a teenager, he and his family attended a church service in a town they were visiting. At the end of the service, they experienced a drama that is played out in a number of conservative congregations. The pastor invited those present to make a first-time commitment to Christ. He announced that if people repeated the… Read more »
For the four weeks leading up to and going beyond Easter, we’re looking at the life of Peter. Because he’s so often at the center of both the brightest and darkest moments in the Gospels, he has always been a source of hope and inspiration for those endeavoring to follow Jesus. On New Year’s Day 1929, Roy Riegels made one… Read more »
For the four weeks leading up to and going beyond Easter, we’re looking at the life of Peter. Because he’s so often at the center of both the brightest and darkest moments in the Gospels, he has always been a source of hope and inspiration for those endeavoring to follow Jesus. Mike Ditka is one of the most famous tough… Read more »
For the four weeks leading up to and going beyond Easter, let’s take a look at the life of Peter. Because he’s so often at the center of both the brightest and darkest moments in the Gospels, he has always been a source of hope and inspiration for those endeavoring to follow Jesus. In all four Gospel accounts, no one shows… Read more »
You have to feel for Carson Wentz. The Indianapolis Colts are paying him millions of dollars. He has sufficiently elite skills to be one of only 32 athletes who will regularly start at quarterback for an NFL team next fall. Just six years ago he was drafted second overall by the Philadelphia Eagles. Scouts and general managers couldn’t say enough… Read more »
In the year 2000, Pixar was riding a wave of success unrivalled in the history of movie studios. Their first three feature-length films – Toy Story, A Bug Life’s, and Toy Story 2 – had been smash hits. Two future blockbusters – Monsters Inc. and Finding Nemo – were in production. Buoyed by such achievement, what did Pixar do next? … Read more »
For Bukayo Saka, it was an exceedingly painful moment. He failed. In front of a crowded stadium and a worldwide TV audience. Saka, a 19-year-old Londoner born to Nigerian parents, is one of the most highly regarded young players in the world’s most popular sport – football (or as Americans call it, soccer). Earlier this summer he was chosen to… Read more »
In the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, marathon runner John Stephen Akhwari of Tanzania finished last. But there’s quite a bit more to his story. Akhwari was one of the world’s best long distance runners. He had never trained at high altitudes, however, such as those in central Mexico. Several miles into the marathon, Akhwari began to cramp. Then, approaching the… Read more »
