BOB JONES

Continued from previous post... Rule Six... for a Better Way to Live: Let your actions always speak for you, but be forever on guard against the terrible traps of false pride and conceit that can halt your progress. The next time you are tempted to boast, just place your fist in a full pail of water, and when you remove it, the hole remaining will give you a correct measure of your importance. Rule Seven: Each day is a special gift from God, and while life may not always be fair, you must never allow the pains, hurdles, and handicaps of the moment to poison your attitude and plans for yourself and your future. You can never win when you…

Og Mandino is the leading inspirational author in the world. He was once a 35-year old derelict who nearly spent his last dollars on a suicide gun. In 1990 he penned one of his final pieces of prose and entitled it, "A Better Way to Live." Its a summary of 17 rules he used to turn a down-and-out alcoholic into a millionaire.  Here are the first five rules. Rule One: Count your blessings. Once you realize how valuable you are and how much you have going for you, the smiles will return, the sun will break out, the music will play, and you will finally be able to move forward the life that God intended for you... with grace, strength,…

“The Little Red Book of Wisdom” had me from the dedication page. Mark DeMoss said he wrote this book “to thank my father and to prepare my boy and two girls in the way my father prepared me.” I the like the concept of the book even more than the content of the book and the content is pretty good. Much like Solomon, who collected wisdom proverbs for the benefits of his children, DeMoss collects his thoughts and experiences as a legacy for his children. I think every parent should do this. It’s a wise practice. That’s one of my takeaway’s from the book. The 190 pages makes it a short read but one from which I have a lot…

Issac…Jacob…Joseph – familiar Biblical names associated with faith. What else did these men have in common? Each of them died young at an old age. They experienced disappointment without bitterness. Faith that works will bring you to the end of your life believing not bitter. We’ve all seen it happen to people we know and love. They become bitter, angry, and filled with resentment because life didn’t turn out the way they thought it would. Isaac had the promise of a land of his own but he died without seeing it fulfilled. Jacob had the same promise and he died in Egypt. Joseph had the same promise but died in Egypt too. If ever any one had the right to…

I’ve always appreciated seniors. When I was a young girl, it was a day and age where we visited seniors’ homes to sing Christmas carols. During high school, I worked in the kitchen at a nursing home in Virginia, and still retain and recount fond memories of those times. I loved getting to know the people there and hearing about their lives. Getting to know people and their stories is probably my favorite activity of all. Seniors have great stories. Recently, I visited my father for his 80th birthday. He lives in a retirement center in Lansing, Michigan. For the week that I was there, I visited him daily, participated in some activities and got to know the staff and…

What does “living by faith,” mean to you? Standing on the edge of the CN tower held only by a harness? Flipping a light switch and knowing the light will turn on? Turning the key in the ignition and knowing the vehicle will start? Depositing money in the bank and knowing you can get it back when you want it. Jumping out of an airplane at 3,000 feet relying solely on a parachute packed by a complete stranger. Standing at the altar and saying “I do” to a lifetime commitment with a partner who is only slightly less imperfect than you are. Depending on the function of a muscle that must fire 9 billion times in the duration of a…

Life in Haiti means that sometimes I wake up with ants scrummaging through my computer keyboard. Or it means that sometimes we don't have electricity. Or other times still we don't have water to shower with. In the daytime right now, the temperature rarely drops anywhere near 35'C... with the evening low being right around 30'C. I walk pretty much everywhere, which means I'm always sweating. If I walk down, I just have to walk back up again - which means I sweat even more. More often than not I sport some sort of sweat stain on my clothing. Each person who travels here to Haiti would go away with a million different stories. Everyone will have different experiences baed…

"Have faith in God." Four words that form the most powerful admonition. So how do you do you have faith in God? The New Testament pays a great tribute to Abraham, the "man of faith." His name appears 30 times in the gospels, 8 times in Acts (5 in one sermon), and 32 times in the epistles. When a New Testament writer wanted to teach a lesson on the nature of or importance of faith, Abraham was the model. So how did he do it? In summarizing his life portrayed in Genesis, I've developed what I call the Abrahamic Absolute: "A long obedience in God’s direction fosters a faith that does a world of good." God called Abraham to begin…

Have you ever found yourself in a place you had previously been decades earlier, and yet it seemed as though only a day had lapsed? That was my experience early this summer. My father had a cottage built on the shores of Georgian Bay, Ontario in 1961. For years, my childhood summertime meant living at the cottage from “school’s out” until “school’s in.” It was two months of sun, sand and swimming. My family and I traveled 3,600kms plus to vacation at that cottage again. On the first day back I sat on the beach and watched children play in the sand. Seagulls soared overhead in the breeze. The laughter of swimmers drifted to shore carried by the waves. Sandpipers…

I am an Andy Andrews fan. I was inspired by “The Butterfly Effect,” and the “Traveler’s Gift.” Andrews’ style combines history and biographies in brilliant ways. He educates and entertains. In “The Final Summit” Andrews does it one more time. The book, at 226 pages, is an qhick read. It flows well. I read it in a couple of hours. As such, it’s the kind of book you may read 3 or 4 times, master “a Coles notes” version of your own, and use it as a motivational code of values. “The Final Summit” is the continuing story of David Ponder, a character developed by Andrews in “The Traveler’s Gift.” Ponder, now 74, is grieving and depressed by the sudden…