“Even though we’re all using the same words, we might not all be speaking the same language.”
We kicked off a new series yesterday and I was so excited about it, that I decided to invite a special friend to join me…MY WIFE!
Check out our latest series DISCONNECTED as we examine the unique ways in which God wired us, and how understanding those differences can help us communicate more lovingly and effectively with the people we love the most.
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“What’s the poorest country you’ve ever been to?” That question was once famously asked to Mother Theresa by an American reporter in the 1970’s. Her response?
“I have been to many countries and seen much poverty and suffering. Everywhere I go people tell me of their hardships and struggles, and ask for help, and I give what I can. But of all the countries I have been to, the poorest one I have been to is America.”
Obviously unprepared for such an answer, the reporter informed Mother Teresa that America was one of the richest countries in the world and questioned why she said it was the poorest. “Because”, she replied, “America suffers most from the poverty of loneliness.”
That was close to 40 years ago. What do you think she’d say today?
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This is a guest post from Natasha Cklamovska – a psychology student at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia who is also a second degree taekwondo black belt (how’s that for an interesting combination). In today’s post, Natasha provides a simple yet beautiful reminder about the importance of friendship. If you too are interested in guest posting on my blog, please visit my Guest Post guidelines for more info.
"A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity." Proverbs 17:17
Throughout the Bible, we see many examples of "best friends", such as Elijah and Elisha:
2 Kings 2:2 - "And Elijah said to Elisha, 'Stay here, for the Lord has told me to go to Bethel.' But Elisha replied, 'As surely as the Lord lives and you yourself live, I will never leave you!' So they went down together to Bethel."
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This past week I preached about the importance of watching what we say. Why? “For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matthew 12:37)
Ouch! That’s a tough verse to swallow if we really take it seriously. In light of that, I remembered this post that I wrote originally three years ago which gets to the core of why watching our words is so difficult to do. Hope you enjoy!
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What’s harder: loving your enemies or loving your friends?
I know the question sounds like a no-brainer. It’s such a dumb question that it’s not even worth answering. “Of course it’s easier to love your friends than it is to love your enemies,” you’d say. How could anyone think otherwise?
Now before I get too deep into this post, let me say that I fully realize that my world isn’t the same as everyone else’s. I don’t live in a world where I’m persecuted for my faith. I don’t live in a world where I have to deal with prejudice because of the color of my skin. I don’t live in a world where I can easily identify one person or one group of people as “my enemy” (Cowboys fans excluded 🙂 )
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"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." (Psalm 34:18)
That's the promise God gave me at the start of 2014. And to be honest, I spent most of this year confused by it.
We’ve heard quite a bit about the encouraging promises of God on this blog, but when I looked at my promise on January 1, I was a little disappointed. Others were given promises of hope, of victory, and of slicing through bronze while I was given a promise that was seemingly "not applicable" to me. I had no idea what to expect in 2014.
Read MoreCommunity. One of the most over-used and least-realized words in churches today. We all want it. We all talk about it. We all think we know what it means.
SO HOW COME WE CAN'T FIND IT?
Check out Part 3 in the #reFriending series and see for yourself. Maybe the reason we can't find it is because we don't know what we're looking for.
How much is a friend worth? How might my life be lacking without the right ones? Is it really possible that just one friend could really change my life in a meaningful way?
YES! ABSOLUTELY! In fact, I believe that you might be just one friend away from a whole new life (assuming of course it's the right kind of friend). You may not realize it, but often when God wants to change our lives for the better, He does so through people...friends...real life people...not the Facebook kind.
And you might be just one friend away from a whole new life.
Don't believe me? Check out Part 2 in the series #reFriending, Real Relationships in a Virtual World.
Yesterday was our first ever Friends & Family day at The Well and it was FANTASTIC! So encouraging to see. By far the most number of people that have visited STSA in our brief two year history.
The topic? THE LOST ART OF FRIENDSHIP - the first part in a new series called #reFriending, Real Relationships in a Virtual World.
The premise of the series is exactly what I blogged about last week - that we've traded in quality for quantity when it comes to relationships and we need to change that. We need to pay less attention to our online image and get back to real, authentic face-to-face relationships - that kind that every one of us is truly yearning for.
So check out the video above and let me know what you think. The intro video alone is hysterical and well worth the time it takes to watch it. Enjoy!
Trivia question - what was the first “problem” that ever existed in the world? The first dilemma that man had to solve?
a) Rush hour traffic
b) Long lines at the DMV
c) In-laws
d) Loneliness and lack of relationship
If you guessed D, you are correct!
Look no further than the second chapter in the Bible and you’ll see that before there were wars and disasters and violence and diseases – all the things that came as a result of sin – there was another problem...LONELINESS.
“And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone.” (Genesis 2:18)
Keep in mind that at the time, everything was good in the world. No problems. No pain. No sickness. No unemployment. No fighting. No construction on the Beltway during rush hour. Everything was just "good".
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