Life

Your tombstone will have two dates—and a dash in between. That small line represents your entire life. How are you living it? In this episode of Colleen’s Corner, Colleen shares the inspiring story of a family friend whose quiet acts of service, humility, and love left a lasting legacy that pointed to Jesus. Be encouraged to reflect on your own dash and consider the kind of legacy you want to leave. https://youtu.be/-kP0HZSoPjs

A year after making Dallas Buyers Club, Matthew McConaughey won the Oscar for Best Actor. The next day his kids asked him, “Papai, what did you get that trophy for?” As a father who wants his children to appreciate the value of delayed gratification, I recognized this as a cool opportunity to teach them, McConaughey writes. I said, “Remember a year ago when we were in New Orleans and I was already at work before you woke up in the morning and every night…

As we enter the Spring season, it’s a pleasant reminder of God’s faithfulness. Spring is the season of new beginnings, a time of renewal and rebirth, and a reminder of Gods loving promise of new life. I like this quote from Goodreads: “Spring signifies hope for renewal, birth/rebirth, new love/romance, and starting anew. It's a season that reminds us that change is possible and that there's always room for growth.” Spring is also a time to…

It’s not every day that you face a high-stakes decision. But when you do, are you ready? Did you consider the cost if things go poorly? Sometimes, the best decision is to just - Stop. I’ve been meeting one-on-one with an inmate at our county prison for close to a year. We’ve had countless conversations about what life will be like from the other side of the wall. You see, my friend has been in and out of jail for nearly 15 years. Mostly because of parole…

Even when their path winds through the dark valley of tears, they dig deep to find a pleasant pool where others find only pain. He gives to them a brook of blessing filled from the rain of an outpouring. (Psalm 84:6 - The Passion Translation) Lord, thank you for allowing me to go through the difficult seasons. There was a time in my life when I never thought I would say those words, but now I look back and see how glorious those dark times really were. In the midst of my…

“Courageous speech has always held us in awe. From the first time we spoke back to our parents as angry, stuttering teens, or had to stand tongue-tied before a roomful of people, feeling naked as the day we were born. There is, after all, something bare and revealing about speech. Perhaps because we intuit the physical intimacy behind the sound of words and the way they are spoken, and that much against our wishes our words tell the listener a good deal more than we…

I was reminded by an acquaintance of mine that there’s more at stake than what feels good in the moment we make choices. Then what? In the short run, there may be a great deal of satisfaction from eating that 1,000-calorie bowl of ice cream (speaking from experience). Then what? 3 ½ of those add one more pound to my belly. If I ignored my friend for a month, who I felt dissed me as we walked by one another at work without uttering a word, then what? If I grow…

I love this quotation . . . “You don’t really understand human nature unless you know why a child on a merry-go-round will wave at his parents every time around – and why his parents will always wave back.” - William D. Tammeu. A boy or girl on a carousel is a powerful metaphor for kids growing up and parents letting go. The child does something daring. In this case, it’s straddling a painted pony and enduring a cacophony of garish colors and.…

I remember my dad asking that question many times. What’s your hurry? Maybe it’s generational and he did live through the Great Depression, if that’s relevant. He took his time on most any project he ever did to be sure it was done correctly. He worked with numbers in his management career for the Pennsylvania Railroad. Perhaps that’s why he wasn’t in a hurry. Everything had to add up before moving to the next thing. That certainly is not the…