Perhaps you've heard of Corrie ten Boom, a young Dutch lady whose family helped hide Jews during the height of Nazi persecution. After the war, she went on to become a powerful and inspiration speaker and writer. You may not know much about her family, particularly her father: Casper ten Boom. While operating a successful jewelry business, he also started a ministry to the poor in Amsterdam. It was called "For the Salvation of the People." When the Nazi's began their persecution of the Jews and required the Jews to wear the star of David, Casper ten Boom wore one, too. In 1942 he became an active part of the Dutch Resistance, helping hide Jews as they traveled to safety. Two years later, the Gestapo raided his house, arresting Casper and his family. He was 84 years old when they sent him to prison. Here's how his last few days…
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Read this morning a good blog post by Kevin Eikenberry about how leaders can create buy-in or ownership. Here are his nine steps but I recommend you read the entire post. ********** Be genuine. State your intention (sometimes). Most of the time it is a good idea to tell people what you are doing. Be prepared. Don’t shoot from the hip. Give context, not opinions. Talk about why. Ask. Yup, ask for their input. Get their ideas. Shut up and listen. Think “and”. Leave your “but” mindset at home. Summarize and add as needed.
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Did you know the word "crisis" shares the same root as "decision"? In other words, whenever you face a crisis it is also a moment of decision. The crisis may or may not be of your own choosing; how you decide is.
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Do you live like a person who has been rescued? I've never been carried from a burning building or pulled from a car wreck. No near-death or light-at-the-end of the tunnel experiences ... so far. But I've been rescued from something far more dangerous, something more deadly than death itself. Here's how Paul describes it: For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Colossians 1:13-14). "The dominion of darkness." It just sounds bad, doesn't it. Yet that's where each of us lived prior to surrendering our lives to Jesus. We lived under the control and mastery of darkness -- not just in darkness but controlled by it. The substitionary death Jesus died on the cross was to set us free from darkness. Simply put, God rescued us. He…
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If only getting wise was as simple as getting older. I didn't ask for gray hairs -- I simply had children! My knees decided on their own how much basketball I would be able to play in one week. Aging happens; wisdom is not so automatic. How does a person gain spiritual wisdom? When the apostle Paul writes his letter to the Colossians, he shares this prayer: For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way ... (Colossians 1:9-10). The Holy Spirit grants wisdom to those who yield themselves to God. There are certain things we can only learn or understand by…
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