Silly Old Bear

[PART 2 OF 4]

Over the course of the next few posts, we will be exploring the Parable of the Prodigal Son from three different perspectives:

1. The perspective of the father
2. The perspective of the prodigal son
3. The perspective of the older brother

Go ahead and read through the parable again by clicking on the picture of the Bible to the right. Then come back here and continue reading.

« Read the rest of this entry »

[PART 1 OF 4]

The Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) is one of Jesus’ most well-known parables. It is actually the third in a series of parables that Jesus told, one after the other, in Luke chapter 15. All three parables have a common theme.

« Read the rest of this entry »

When you are dead and gone, what will your life have counted for? Will the world be a better place because you were here?

One of my biggest fears in life is mediocrity – just sort of drifting through life without ever really accomplishing anything worthwhile. I don’t want to come to the end of my life, look back over all those years, and wonder, “What was that all about?” I want to know that my life counted for something, that I somehow made other people’s lives better. I don’t want to just take up space.

Every one of us has the ability to make our lives count for something. It doesn’t matter how rich or poor you are, how famous or unknown; it doesn’t matter what side of the tracks you live on, what color your skin is, or whether you are male or female. No one is destined for mediocrity. Your life matters, and you can make other people’s lives better. And the really cool thing is, you have the unique ability to do that in a way that no one else can!

So I challenge you to rise above mediocrity. Make your life count for something. Make the world a better place. Here are four ways you can do just that.

« Read the rest of this entry »

My friend Horace Bratcher told me a funny story from his childhood that I thought you might get a chuckle out of as well.

« Read the rest of this entry »

The following article appeared in the November 2009 print issue of the “Christian Chronicle”, an “international newspaper for Churches of Christ” whose mission is “to inform, inspire and unite”. The article was written by Chris Blair, who ministers to students on the campus of Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, while serving as the Campus Minister for the Huntsville Church of Christ. This article is reprinted with the gracious permission of Chris Blair and the Christian Chronicle.

I think you will be inspired.

« Read the rest of this entry »

I discovered the following Irish Blessings at http://islandireland.com/Pages/folk/sets/bless.html, and thought some of you might enjoy them as well.

An Old Irish Blessing

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

« Read the rest of this entry »

[PART 5 OF 5]

I believe that the story of Santa Claus is the story of God!

As I’ve stated in my previous “Santa Claus Factor” articles, I believe the story of Santa Claus can be viewed as a parable that teaches us some important lessons about God. This will be my last article in this series.

« Read the rest of this entry »

If you have been using the Internet for more than about a week, you have probably accumulated a list of user names and passwords that are required in order for you to access certain websites: online banking and bill-paying, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, other social networking sites, online shopping sites, G-Mail or Yahoo! webmail, PayPal, music and media sites, etc. User names and passwords are great security measures to keep other people from having access to your personal information. If you don’t have a reliable way to remember all those user names and passwords, however, they can keep YOU from having access to all those wonderful online services with which you have established accounts.

There are some important guidelines that should be considered when creating user names and passwords, and also when storing and retrieving them.

« Read the rest of this entry »

[PART 4 OF 5]

I believe that the story of Santa Claus is the story of God!

In the last article, we discussed Santa’s list. We noticed the similarities between Santa’s “nice” and “naughty” lists, and God’s. In this article, we will continue to explore the parable-like nature of the Santa Claus story, and its ability to help us understand God a little better.

« Read the rest of this entry »

I grew up in the small South Texas town of Alice, the “Hub City of Texas”. In the Fall of 1976, I was attending William Adams Junior High School as a 9th grader. One of my favorite classes was Mr. Howell’s Speech class. I remember Mr. Howell as being somewhat eccentric. He envisioned his Speech class as something of an adventure in self-discovery for his students.

One of our assignments was to keep an “Everything Log”, where we would write down our “feelings, emotions, thoughts, dreams, ideas, etc.” on a daily basis. I ran back across that Everything Log recently, and started reading it. What follows is my entry for October 12, 1976. I was fourteen years old when I wrote this.

« Read the rest of this entry »