Monthly Archives: December 2008

The last few days of each year I try to set aside some time to reflect and evaluate what I want to accomplish in the New Year ahead. It’s basically a three-step process: 1. Revisit and review last year’s goals and evaluate progress made.2. Establish new goals for the New Year.3. Ask God for a … Continue reading »

There’s a story in W.A. Criswell’s biography that illustrates how you can never measure the impact of your life. W.A. tells about the day of his conversion: It was Autumn, 1920. His church was holding a revival and Criswell received permission to skip school to attend a special mid-day meeting.At the close of the service, … Continue reading »

How big is your God? How big is Jesus in your life? I’m convinced that the way we live is a consequence of the size of our God. The primary problem in our lives is we are not convinced that we are absolutely safe in the hands of a fully- competent, all-knowing, ever-present, utterly loving, … Continue reading »

On behalf of the Smith family I wish you a Merry Christmas! May God’s peace surround you, and his presence comfort you this holiday season!

Christmas is the day that holds time together. — Alexander Smith There’s only been one Christmas (the rest are anniversaries), and it is not over yet. –W.J. Cameron The place that the shepherds found was not an academy or an abstract republic; it was not a place of myths allegorized or dissected or explained away. … Continue reading »

The pastor of a church in California put a sign in front of his church during the Christmas season that said, “Jesus is the reason for the season. Merry Christmas.” He received a complaint from a woman in the community who took exception with the message. She closed the conversation by saying, “I don’t think … Continue reading »

In the fall of 1843 Charles Dickens was facing tremendous financial pressure. He knew he needed to write a hit and he needed to do it quickly. One evening he took a long walk, hoping for something that would spark his imagination. He began his walk in his own neighborhood-one of London’s finest. As he … Continue reading »

Charles Lamb said “New Year’s Day is every man’s birthday.” We’re just a few of weeks away from changing the calendar, so we’ve all got a birthday coming up. We’ll all have a chance to reflect a little bit on the past 365 days and, hopefully, focus a lot on the next 365 days. If … Continue reading »

I recently heard about a different approach to reading I’m going to try in 2009: going back to the good books in your library again and again. There’s an old saying that great books are not written, they’re rewritten. In other words, an author should give his manuscript more than one pass. It can also … Continue reading »

There are certain laws at work in the universe, and no amount of power, or money, or influence can change them. These laws are God’s laws. He designed them to work for us, not against us. In order for this to happen, we sometimes have to change our course. His laws don’t change; we must … Continue reading »