Ten seconds between life and death. It’s not very long, yet I learned important life lessons from a sneaker wave on the Oregon coast recently. Dan and I were visiting the beach to celebrate my birthday. The first morning, sunshine filtered through early morning mist on the beach. Sea gulls called their mournful cries over the sand, and the boom of the waves lured us to the water’s edge to see what we could see. I couldn’t wait to wet my toes in the salty water and feel the sea breeze lift ... View the Post
Turning Lead to Gold — 3 Strategies to Make It Work
The secret of turning lead to gold is part of the legends that make up folk lore and stories we tell children around campfires. But what if it really worked? The person who discovered this may well become another Warren Buffett or Bill Gates. It can be done, but at what cost? Turning lead to gold is one thing, but turning sorrows and troubles to joy exceeds that by far. Even better, turning evil to good is the best thing that could possibly be done on planet earth. Can it be done? How? It ... View the Post
Cotton Candy Promises — Seven Sure-Fire Ways to Succeed With New Years Resolutions
There it lies, this brand new year, like an empty page, a new beginning, a fresh start. We often make resolutions and set goals for ourselves. We want to fill those blank pages and start on a new adventure. Every year, I dutifully record my goals. Some of them I achieve, but others I do not. These promises I make to myself become like cotton candy -- sweet to my mouth, but soon evaporated and gone, leaving me with a bitter taste. And I have a feeling I'm not alone. How can I accomplish my ... View the Post
What Did Mary Really Know? Hope for Your Desperate Journeys
How can we obey God despite difficult circumstances? Maybe we should ask Mary. But what did she know? She knew she was bearing the Son of God in her womb, she knew ridicule and misunderstanding from almost everyone, and she knew joy. The kind of joy that comes through obedience to God's revealed will. We all have journeys that are difficult. What got Mary through and what can we learn from her story? It's not an easy journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Especially when you're pregnant. I ... View the Post
6 Powerful Secrets to Reclaim Peace of Mind and Joy
Contentment is the lost ingredient of joy. Have you noticed how little joy there is in our world today? Where has it gone? Why did it leave? How can we get it back? Discontentment is stealing your joy. Have you ever noticed that no matter how much people have, they still want more? The advertising industry is built on this concept: create a need and then fill that need. Make people discontent with what they have and then show them how your product will fulfill their desires. Nearly ... View the Post
Seven Stupendous Ways to Improve Your Life Right Now
How can you improve the quality of your life? You can do it. Here's how: 1. Make wise choices. It begins with choices. We make them all the time, yet we often don't connect the choices we make with the quality of the life we lead. Sometimes we make really bad, foolish choices. Sometimes our choices are good and wise. How can we make consistently wise choices that will improve our lives? We met a man once who personified wise choices. Joe Waterman lived in Grangeville, Idaho. We met him when ... View the Post
