As a kid, you might have heard, “You are what you eat.” Well, not really – not in the sense that you are your next meal. But that next meal will influence your physiology. If you keep eating the same foods over and over, they will have an impact on your body. Here’s the good news: At any time you are free to change what you eat. In 2017, I made the decision to essentially become a vegetarian. Or as Jon Shaw -- our Connections and Missions Pastor -- likes to say, I became a hippy. I started with the Daniel Fast and liked how I felt. Then I decided to stick with being a vegetarian. Technically, I’m an ovo-pescatarian. When I’m in Chicago eating a deep dish pizza, I’m for as much meat as possible. I could think about eating healthier and why it’s important. I could study up on healthy diets…
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Do you want to be happy? I’ve got good news for you … If you do a quick search for “happiness” in Amazon books, and you’ll find more than 50,000 results. That’s a lot of people writing about it and people looking for it. You’ll find titles like … The Art of Happiness The Happiness Advantage Hardwiring Happiness The Happiness Hypothesis The Happiness Curve (why life gets better after 50!) One more year and I’ll finally be happy! As interested as I am in living a happy life, I’m even more interested in living a meaningful life. Why? Let me frame it for you this way: Pursuing happiness will not always lead to meaning. Pursuing meaning will always lead to happiness, joy, satisfaction, and significance. At Mountainview we are starting a new series called “Your Life Matters.” Our small groups will be discussing the same themes we talk about on…
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Bittersweet but blessed. Our youngest daughter, Hope, is starting her freshman year at Hope College and will write the next chapter of her life by making more of her own choices and decisions - something parents are to prepare their children to do (knowing that doesn't make it any easier on moms!). We know that she will not return home as the same young lady that graduated high school. She will be different. She will have made different friends and studied under different teachers. She will be changed. In life, change is inevitable - how we are changed is our own choice. Each birthday reminds me that I am one year older. That's inevitable. How I choose to eat, think, and exercise will determine the quality of my life. That's my choice. The gospel is all about God's power to transform our lives through the finished work of Jesus on…
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All too often, discussions about leadership tend to revolve around strategies, systems, or tactics. You'll find great advice on how to ... run a meeting develop a schedule or timeline create to-do lists organize your thoughts brainstorm eat right exercise more These are not bad things, with the possible exception of exercising more! Even that wouldn't hurt most people (including me). But most of those start from the outside and are external in nature. Effective, sustainable leadership is more than an external system; it comes from the inner spirit - the heart, soul, and mind. Many would-be leaders assume its the tactics that make well-known leaders effective. Good and great leaders certainly use best practices and support their efforts with well thought out actions. What these would-be leaders don't see is what's on the inside. The inner workings of leadership are not as flashy or tweetable as a strategy or…
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Helping our kids understand the power of God is important. Our job as parents and grandparents is to help our kids learn that God can handle whatever challenge they might face.Watch more videos at the Mountainview YouTube channel. Need a Speaker or Presenter? Interested in having me speak for your church, conference, or organization? Follow this link to learn more. Looking for a Speaking Coach? The most successful people are not always the smartest people. But they have one thing in common: they communicate well. I'd love to help you become a better communicator. Click here.
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