When Harvey got on the treadmill at the gym, he placed his head within a couple of inches of the control panel, and he cocked his head slightly. Harvey’s world was donut shaped. The center of everything he looked at had a big blind spot in it.
Harvey could no longer drive. He loved to read but could only do so with great effort. When he got on the treadmill at our gym, he had to put his face really close to the controls in order to change the settings. Continue reading Blindness
Ben Bernanke is the chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. Recently he wrote an article for the March 3, 2011 New York Times on the subject of early childhood education (ECE). In light of California’s budget crisis and the fear that education could be one of the budget victims, here are 4 reasons early childhood education is a must. Continue reading Why Children Need Our Attention
The man was wealthy and young. Luck had gone his way, and he had amassed a large amount of money and property. He used his money in make more investments and purchase his way into the power structures of his community.
Those who knew him believed him to be an upstanding and religious person. If Time Magazine had been around then, he might well have made the “Man of the Year” cover because of his accomplishments. Continue reading How much can I keep?
Networking is not rocket science. It does require some discipline and thought however. The results are worth the effort. Here are the steps to becoming a dynamite networker. Continue reading How to Connect with People
In the 1830’s Alexis de Tocqueville wrote this about the United States. “Individualism is a word recently coined to express a new idea…Individualism is a calm and considered feeling which disposes each citizen to isolate himself from the mass of his fellows and withdraw into the circle of family and friends; with this little society formed to his taste, he gladly leaves the greater society to look after itself.” Continue reading The Importance of Community
A friend said, “I really like to watch his program on Sunday morning.” He was talking about a popular televangelist–coiffed hair, expensive suit, huge megachurch, beautiful wife at his arm.
The preacher’s Sunday morning message is something like, “God wants you to be fabulously rich and happy.” That may be the reason my friend likes him. Who doesn’t want to be fabulously rich and happy? Continue reading Health and Wealth Gospel
In Jesus’ time it was not uncommon to hear someone begin a promise with, “I swear by the altar of the Temple.” It sounds like a real promise. Like swearing on “a stack of Bibles.”
But swearing by the altar was a first-century version of crossing your fingers behind your back. The person swearing by the altar believed that oath was not binding and never intended to keep the promise. Continue reading How to Finagle Your Way Out of a Promise
If you’ve ever shopped at Nordstrom’s, you know you’ve had an extraordinary experience, especially if you needed additional service or even a refund.
A former Nordstroms employee told these customer service stories. A customer tried to return pants that had clearly been worn for an extended amount of time, but was still given a refund. In another case, Nordstrom split two pairs of shoes in order to fit a man with different sized feet. There are also plenty of stories about Nordstrom employees who have personally delivered items to customers’ homes. Continue reading Divine Abundance
Ancient sowers did not know what they were going to get when harvest time came.
Without multi-row cultivators, GPS, and high tech pest and weed controls they didn’t know what challenges lay in the soil. Out the sowers marched, row-by-row, scattering seed by hand. Only time, sun, and rain would reveal which seeds would grow and which would not. Continue reading How Seeds Are Like the Human Heart
“I want to be your disciple,” the man said to Jesus. “I’ll follow you anywhere.”
Many people would have been flattered by such an offer. A politician might have said, “Let me put you on my campaign team.” A teacher might have said, “Let me enroll you in my class.” A movie star might have said, “You can head up my fan group.” Continue reading Wannabe Disciples
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