Article by Kevin L. DeWitt
When we are trying to accomplish anything, most people want things to come together smoothly and quickly, with “quickly” being the operative word…
It doesn’t matter whether it’s reaching a travel destination, finishing a project at the office, losing weight, or learning to play the guitar. We’re taught that faster is better. Our culture is bombarded with messages from Madison Avenue that faster is better. Directors of our largest companies – and Wall Street overall – reward quarterly results. They ask “What have you accomplished over the last 12 weeks?” … instead of long-term growth and stability.
Perhaps it’s not fair to pick on CEOs and Wall Street, because examples of “fast is better” are replete in practically every corner our culture. We all want to see immediate returns for our efforts, and we take huge strides toward reaching our goals expeditiously. After all, why take small steps when we can take quantum leaps? And who would want to take the long way when it takes so … long?
Another perspective is that, while there is nothing wrong with desiring to move quickly, we also need a strong sense of an appreciation for taking the long way and completing things one step at a time. Put simply … we need to realize there are real benefits – and we can be happy and content - with taking the long way.
Why?
Because many things really are meant to take some time.
Some things are meant to unfold on their own timeline. And we are meant to learn things about the issue, about ourselves, about others, and what we are trying to accomplish along the way. Read More »
Article by Dr. Les Hollon, Pastor, Trinity Baptist Church
Holy week is the Hall of Fame week in world history. Why? Because Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday reveal God’s power to give meaning to Every Day of our lives.
Because of what Christ did those days we can know these days how to live daily with salvation’s joy. Is your daily life filled with this joy?
As Jesus entered Jerusalem that Sunday, everyone in the region realized from that moment on there was no turning back. Either His perfect love would win or the sinful nature of people & power would prevail. Salvation’s freedom was at stake!
Would people’s shriveled hearts betray Jesus to the worldly authorities for crucifixion or would Jesus’ tender heart be tough enough to transform them? The week unfolded in a way that both would happen. By Jesus’ saving response to the dramatic tension during those days, we can know today the unending power of Jesus.
Two historical messages were given when Jesus prophetically rode a colt into Jerusalem and the crowd laid palm branches before him on what we call Palm Sunday. Read More »
Article by Malcolm Marler
We have been taught all of our lives to tell the truth. Sounds simple enough, right?
Well, not always … sometimes it is the hardest thing to do.
Have you ever been in a situation where you were aware of specific information about someone, and that same person you were talking to did not know that you knew? And how did that make you feel?
One time a patient died unexpectedly at the hospital and I was asked as the chaplain to come and be with the family. But when I got there, I learned they had gone home earlier in the evening, and were called to come back to the hospital because their loved one “had taken a turn for the worse.”
So I waited for them outside the unit, introduced myself, ushered them into the family conference room, and alerted the nurse to page the physician to come to deliver the bad news.
And we waited.
They began to ask reasonable questions, “What is going on?” “How was their loved one doing?” “Has anything bad happened?” “Why couldn’t they go into the room?” And I found myself dancing around their questions as I stalled for time.
Was I lying by not telling the truth?
I knew what had happened. I knew the answer to their questions. But someone else was supposed to deliver the news.
We find ourselves in the “truth dilemma” every day don’t we?
We shade the black-and-white truth with a little gray here and there. And before we know it, we’ve changed the entire color of the conversation. We go from living simply to living with complexity.
French philosopher Blaise Paschal said, “We know the truth, not only by the reason, but by the heart.”
If we want to live more simply, we are drawn to the truth, however difficult that may be.
Telling the truth to others, and listening to the truth about ourselves … Both are steps in the journey to living more simply.
Malcolm
“In human relationships, kindness and lies are worth a thousand truths.”
-Graham Greene
Malcolm Marler is Director of Pastoral Care for UAB Hospital in Birmingham, AL. In addition to his interest in spirituality and health, he loves to identify physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of persons, then design and build programs that help meet those needs. His warmth and humor along with his powerful message of hope and grace is his greatest strength. Malcolm grew up in Alabama and attended Clemson University (S.C.) on a football scholarship as a defensive back where he graduated with a B.A. degree in Psychology. He is a graduate of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY with Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees. Malcolm lives on a lake in North Alabama with the love of his life, Mary Bea Sullivan. He has two open-hearted, loving stepchildren, Brendan and Kiki who are both freshman in college. For more information or to contact Malcolm, please visit www.MalcolmMarler.com.
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Posted on 29 March, 2010 in
Goals,
Simplify
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Article by Kevin L. DeWitt
At best … coping with the emotional and financial strains of having an unemployed spouse or significant other is difficult and highly stressful.
Yet at the same time, this is the very circumstance when your loved one needs your support. According to University of Michigan researchers, a spouse’s attitude toward job hunting is a major influences the mental state of the unemployed mate. And keeping a positive attitude both at home and in a job search can be the difference between success and failure … both in landing a job and in the success of the marriage.
So … What can each of us do to help our partner, while at the same time maintaining some resemblance of normalcy at home? Couples who have successfully weathered unemployment, as well as professional counselors suggest: Read More »
Article by Dr. Les Hollon, Pastor, Trinity Baptist Church
What would you write if you were unjustly jailed?
The Apostle Paul, imprisoned for his faith, wrote a Spirit inspired letter to fellow believers in Ephesus. Martin Luther King’s letter from a Birmingham jail ignited a Civil Rights movement. Thoreau’s jail house communication with Emerson shaped a consensus of conscience.
Paul’s letter challenged the church to change the world by living in God’s strength. All of Paul’s writings were letters initially addressed to churches & individuals who resided in the Roman Empire. As individuals, families, neighborhoods, cities, and regions were changed by the life giving relationship of conversion through Christ - the Roman Empire changed.
These same promises now inspire us to live powerfully in our 21st century world.
The “How” - Ephesians 6:10-20
As Paul prayerfully thought through his current circumstances, he saw the Roman soldier’s armor as a way of understanding how believers can live in the power of God’s might…
Instead of envying what he did not have - the Roman soldier’s armor - Paul claimed the greater power offered by God (6:10). “Daily, be made powerful by God’s strength being the source of your strength,” is a faithful translation (6:11 & 13). “Put on God’s whole armor” is twice emphasized by Paul to clarify that our strength comes by yielding our “complete self into God’s presence” (6:12-14). Read More »
Posted on 22 March, 2010 in
Spirituality
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