29-32 What I'm trying to do here is get you to relax, not be so preoccupied with getting so you can respond to God's giving...Steep yourself in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. (Luke 12:29-32 — The Message Translation) Have you found yourself preoccupied in getting to be able to give to God what is God's? How many of us have dreamed that our numbers would be picked for the Mega Million/Powerball jackpots? And then in our dreaming, the first thing we would do with the money is...give some to the church or a charity! Is that a reoccurring dream for you? "If only I had that much money, I could make a huge difference for God's kindom." It's not about just this dream, but also the dre

Have you ever been to a meal at someone's home where the host's concern that everything be "perfect" ruined the whole evening? There comes a time in every good party when you just have to let the dishes stack up, the coffee get cold and the butter melt, so that everyone may simply sit down and talk around the table. As you were reading that last paragraph, were you squirming in your seat just thinking of the mess in the kitchen and wanting to jump up and clean up the clutter? Perhaps you read the paragraph and just laughed at the foolishness of rushing around cleaning up the mess when you have people all around you to connect with after a great meal. In biblical terms, if you are a "squirmer

This Sunday is Saint Patrick's Day and most people, Irish or not, will wear something green, maybe drink a few green beers, wear shamrock pins and perhaps even wear something that says, curiously, "Kiss me, I'm Irish." Parades will march like our own "PaddyFest," pipes will play and Chicago will dye its river green to honor the Irish and Saint Patrick. All of this, however, tends to miss the real impact of Saint Patrick on the history of the world. Legend has it that Saint Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland. Well, the truth is that there were never, nor are there today, snakes in Ireland (at least not the slithering kind). That legend may be symbolic of the fact that Patrick did, in fac

Recently I read an article written by a Frank Powell for Church Leaders magazine, and in it he listed seven spiritual consequences of living a hurried, busy life. The article was a perfect reminder for all of us as we enter into the Lenten Season and our theme: Busy: Reconnecting with an Unhurried God. Here are some of the findings from Powell's article: In 1967, experts on time management delivered a report to the U.S. Senate.These experts believed the speed of technology, satellites and robotics would present a big problem for the American workplace in the years to come. The problem? People would have too much free time. Here's what they concluded: By 1985, people might have to choose betw

Author Jill Stark reported that French companies are now legally required to provide their employees with a "right to disconnect" — should we be following suit? She related her own personal story. "There are 2,301 unread emails in my inbox. I feel like I'm perpetually in the middle of a conversation I never finish. I try to get through them — respond to the ones that matter, cull the ones that don't — but there's always more. It's a hallmark of modern life. 'Always on' is the new normal. A journalist friend told me this week that he spent his summer holiday deleting 200 emails a day, just to avoid an overwhelming backlog when he returned to work. We used to say, 'good, thanks' when someone a