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The Worrier
Do not be anxious about anything…Philippians 4:6 Joe was a chronic worrier. He worried if he didn’t have anything to worry about. One day Joe made a dramatic change in his attitude. Nothing seemed to bother him anymore. It was a miracle. A friend asked him the secret of his newly acquired worry-free attitude. “I…
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Star Gazing
He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. —Psalm 147:4 Alpha Centaurae. Ever heard of it? It is our nearest star other than the sun. Although it is our nearest star, it still 4½ light years away. That’s a long way. Let me help you visualize the distance. Light travels…
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My Angel Birds
I didn’t sleep at all last night. I tossed and turned. This way and that. My mind kept racing over the prospects of getting this book finished. I kept thinking of all that had to be done, and all the things I had to do. Finally, I gave up and got up around 3 a.m.…
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Have You Lost Your Swing?
There’s an old song entitled, “I Gotta Be Me.” Sounds simple enough, but sometimes I wonder who ME really is. What would I look like if I really was ME? I am a “people-pleaser” par excellence. I’ve lived most all my life to gain approval and acceptance from others by trying to be what THEY…
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The Obituary of Common Sense
I made a big mistake the other night. I watched the evening news for an hour. I was in the flesh for 2 days. I cannot believe how stupid… yes, I said it… how stupid people have become. I know that’s not politically correct, but I’m sick and tired of being politically correct and completely stupid. We…
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The Centipede
As I continue my Journey, God still won’t fit into my box. At one time, I had Him just about figured out, or so I thought. My old religious God that existed for my benefit and happiness was pretty reliable. If I did good, then I got good… some of the time. If I did…
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How to Pray
A lot of people don’t pray because they say they don’t know how. Some think there is a special vocabulary that God hears. If they don’t use the precise words and inflections, they think God turns a deaf ear. Bullfeathers! I once heard of an atheist mother whose daughter was killed in an accident. With…
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Punkie Brewster Theology
Punky Brewster was a theologian. Did you know that? One of her most famous theological platitudes was: “How can you know if you’re happy if you’re never, ever sad?” A similar expression says, “You can never savor the exhilaration of the mountain top until you’ve experienced the depression of the valley.” Over the years I…
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To Fear or Not to Fear
There are two types of fear: healthy fear and toxic fear. If you happen upon a mama grizzly bear with her cubs on a hike in the mountains, and you are not afraid, then you are either crazy, or the “Grizzly Man.” And we know what happened to the Grizzly Man. They put both his…
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Diary Notes of a Recovering Pharisee
I watched a TV show the other night about a group of brain surgeons. One Asian doctor, Dr. Sung Park, is a genius and speaks very broken English. When patients ask him if they could die during one of his surgeries, he says, “I don’t do die. I do live.” In this particular episode a…