category: joy

browsing >> joy

not broken

Posted by Jeff Olson on May 21st, 2013 | one response

As someone who has logged a lot of time in the coastal waters of Florida, I’ve always enjoyed seeing bottlenose dolphins up close in the wild. That’s one reason I was particularly drawn to the movie Dolphin Tale. Based... read more »

good religion

Posted by winn collier on May 16th, 2013 | 10 responses

As a pastor, I get interesting responses from people when they discover my vocation. Some will immediately apologize for the language they’ve used. Some offer a forced smile and then come up with an excuse to change the... read more »

the body of Christ

Posted by roxanne robbins on May 15th, 2013 | 3 responses

Two nights before I moved to Africa 5 years ago, I panicked. As much as I believed the Lord was calling me to Uganda, I feared that by going there I would forfeit my friends back home. I thought they would forget me and that... read more »

my greatest enemy

Posted by pohfangchia on May 10th, 2013 | 2 responses

A Christian leader was once asked: “Who is your greatest enemy?” He replied, “Every morning I see him in the mirror.” Perhaps that’s the real reason why some of us are facing challenges in our marriage, school,... read more »

freeing money

Posted by winn collier on May 6th, 2013 | 8 responses

Among the poor, I’ve often encountered extravagant generosity. In the Amazon jungle, locals stretched their meager resources to provide me with daily meals. One evening they prepared fresh monkey stew and though it was not... read more »

stay hungry

Posted by mike wittmer on May 4th, 2013 | 2 responses

It’s often more difficult to stay on top than it is to get there. This is true in sports: A young boxer trains hard as he fights his way through the ranks, but once he wins a championship he becomes lazy and loses his... read more »

short

Posted by Tim Gustafson on April 2nd, 2013 | one response

My friend, now 65, smiled nostalgically as she shared memories of her grandfather’s last year. Born in 1890, he had made this comment at age 94: “I went from the days of horse-and-buggy to a man walking on the moon,”... read more »

correcting blind spots

Posted by marvin williams on March 1st, 2013 | 4 responses

In The Call to Joy and Pain, Ajith Fernando, a Christian leader from Sri Lanka, wrote: “The church in each culture has its own special challenges—theological blind spots that hinder Christians from growing to full... read more »

experiencing community

Posted by tom felten on February 25th, 2013 | 5 responses

Respondents to a recent Barna Group survey listed the following as key elements of their church life: connecting with God, experiencing transformation, gaining new insights, and feeling cared for. All of those things happen... read more »

back from the dead

Posted by winn collier on February 11th, 2013 | no responses

The young Argentinean couple grieved over their baby. The medical staff pronounced the baby stillborn and hurried the body away. The mother, drugged from the delivery, hadn’t even gotten to kiss her baby girl goodbye.... read more »