text:
Members of Astley and Ellesmere Lodge No 730 assembled at Chorley Masonic Hall to celebrate 50 years in Freemasonry of James (Jim) Bolton in the presence of Assistant Provincial Grand Master Stewart Seddon and group chairman Peter Lockett.
As is customary on these occasions, Stewart Seddon retained the gavel when it was offered and proceeded to tell the brethren of the life and times of James Bolton. He took us from his birth in 1930, his early life and then his working life.
Stewart then turned to Jim's Masonic career telling the brethren that Jim was initiated into Ellesmere Lodge on 13 November 1968, which met in those days at the Masonic Rooms, Fellery Street in Chorley.
His proposer was Bill Carr, his cousin, who was present to witness the celebration. Stewart went on to detail the distinguished Masonic career that Jim had enjoyed over the past 50 years and commented that he had always been a good ambassador for the Craft.
Following the oration, Peter Lockett read out the certificate from the Provincial Grand Master recognising 50 years of service after which Stewart Seddon presented it to Jim.
The formal side of the celebration over, Stewart together with grand officers and acting Provincial grand officers retired and on this special occasion, Stewart invited Jim to accompany him out of the lodge.
The brethren soon joined the grand and acting Provincial grand officers and took the opportunity to offer their own personal congratulations to Jim and to share memories of the past 50 years.
Everyone then took their places at the social board and the conversations and memory sharing continued whilst they enjoyed a three-course meal prepared by Sharon, the hall caterer and served by her ever efficient staff.
The toast to Jim Bolton was given by his proposer, Bill Carr who then presented Jim with a cut glass decanter. Jim suitably responded and thanked everyone for attending. He made special mention of the fact that the Provincial Grand Master Tony Harrison had rung him that morning to wish him well.
The evening grew to a close with everyone present having enjoyed a wonderful evening of celebration for 50 years of service to Freemasonry.
We hope to see you at your 60th Jim!


text:
Hello everyone,
New here but been reading answers in your forum for a couple of days now.
I know only the basic for Excel and your answers to others been very helpful for me, though got me in a state with all these formulas and codes.
Have a nice day all

subset: commoncrawl


text:
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Violet Maude "Violet" Bailey
August 13, 1922 - February 28, 2006
At Quinte Healthcare Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital, on Tuesday, February 28th, 2006, VIOLET MAUDE BAILEY, of Spring Street, Picton, at the age of 83. Beloved wife of the late Keith. Loving mother of Douglas, Sandra, and Robert, all of Picton. Dear sister of Olive Weeks of Picton. Loving Nan of Angela Judge of Oshawa and Jennifer Bailey of Picton and dearest Nannie of Steven, Mikhayla, Caleb and Emma. A GRAVESIDE SERVICE WILL BE HELD AT THE CHERRY VALLEY CEMETERY, ON SATURDAY, MARCH 4TH AT 10:00 A.M. PASTOR DENNIS PRINGLE OFFICIATING. If desired, donations to the Canadian Cancer Society would be appreciated by the family. ARRANGEMENTS ENTRUSTED TO THE WHATTAM FUNERAL HOME, 33 MAIN STREET, WEST, PICTON, ONTARIO.


text:
|bearing name:
|NSK 6216Z bearing
|Brand model :
|outer diameter D :
|140 mm
|diameter d :
|80 mm
|thickness B :
|26 mm
|Deep groove ball bearing specifications
|6216Z bearing price
TRA Bearing company supply NSK 6216Z bearings, NSK 6216Z bearing related information: Model: 6216Z Bearing; Brand: NSK; Type: Deep groove ball bearing. If you want to know more about NSK 6216Z for information, you can do online consultation or call the hotline and email us [email protected], we will serve you in detail.
NSK 6202Z Single Row Deep Groove Ball Bearing 5.0 out of 5 stars 1. $14.05. Next. What other items do customers buy after viewing this item? NTN Bearing 6206Z Single Row Deep Groove Radial Ball Bearing, Normal Clearance, Steel Cage, 30 mm Bore ID, 62 mm OD, 16 mm Width, Single Shielded.
More details about NSK 6216-Z. Wholesale brand NSK 6216-Z Spherical Roller Bearings, cheap NSK 6216-Z price agent, sizes, supplier; Supplies NSK 6216-Z ball bearings trader; We are the professional exporter and distributor of NSK 6216-Z dealer, factory, cost.. Bearing a is a leading online supplier and distributor of over 1,000,000 bearings and ancillary products, from some of the world's.


text:
The old adage about not buying a supercar if you're worried about running costs doesn't apply in full to the NSX, especially if you ignore its £144,815 list price (not that you'll do that in a hurry). By utilizing its hybrid running gear effect both low speed all-electric running and as a useful start-stop system the Honda claims a not unreasonable 28.2mpg at the pumps – not bad for near 600bhp supercar weighing in at nearly 1800kg. That said, in everyday use you can expect low to mid-twenties, while giving the Honda its head will see superunleaded downed at the rate of a gallon every 15 miles or so.
Still, CO2 emissions of 228g/km mean it's a not unreasonable expensive car for business users, while being a Honda it'll be as dependable as a Southern Train services is unreliable.


text:
Cruggy Range cellar door suts under tha uncridubly pucturisque Te Mata peak (ie the Cruggy Range) un the Hawkes Bay region of NZ. Tha mountains are mugnufisunt. Tha ruvers run in outrageous shade ov azure. Ind the sheep are so flooffy, they luk just about riddy to oop ind float away.
Tha vineyards of Cruggy Range sut on the bunks of the Tukituki Ruvver, ind binnyfut frum a pidologucal phunomenon known locally iz the Gumblutt Grivels. The stoney soils hiv proved to be New Zulland's inswer to tha famous Cardboard terror (wutivver thut uz) - tha loose stones holding tha sprung-time heat, and fusulitating tha early ripening of tha fruit. Tha overall rissult is for rutch, slightly sweet rids, thit are low un assuduty.
Cruggy hiv in ixtensuv range (minny more ixpensuv thin thus Merlot), ind I urge you to guv thim a try. But tha Cruggy Gumblutt Grivels Merlot suts mud-range and uz a cracker.
Ut suts lucintly un the glass, rummed by a halo of blushing, rubescint glory. Ut smucks of a sunnamon donut, dunked un a double isprisso. And gee whuz, thus girl's gut ligs – ind, boy, duz she know how to use thim.
Un tha mouth ut uz so thuck and rutch, you could will stuck a knife un ut and sprid it on toast. Ut uz smooth, sulky, full of fruit, ind quite sumply sweet-as, (cuzzy) Bro.
I usually like to drunk merlot with nice (choice), frish pasta. But guvven thus merlot's provenunce, ut would be a trivusty not to team ut with some lovely, lamby shinks (hmmmm Baaa-bara, show us your shinks).
They say ut wool last tin years un the cellar. I say, good luck!
Rating: 8.5
Drink with: Lamb
Price: A$40


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Creating A Media Kit
In Joan Stewart's writing tips she says "Your book's media kit is the major marketing package that tells a variety of audiences about the book, and makes it easy for them to report on it or promote it. Yet many authors are confused about what goes into the kit. If you've written more than one book, you should… [Read more]


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The Pop Quiz, Monday is a fun little exam that we love to give to savvy business owners. The examination is not a surprise after all since the interviewee already knew about the questions in advance. However, we can always pretend and have fun with the scenario of a young entrepreneur sitting in class nervously biting on their pencil. They are ready to take a pop quiz on a chapter that they were supposed to read the night before. Instead, they played Metroid all night on their SNES (Oops, this was me in high school). The real purpose of the pop quiz is that this is a fun way to introduce business tips from real-world experiences that you can not learn in a classroom. We want to thank our entrepreneur for being a good sport and volunteering their time to answer a few questions to help our community grow from their knowledge.
I want to introduce you to our guest today who will be taking our Pop Quiz Monday.
Can you please tell everyone your name?
Gary Hargraves
What is your job role?
Digital Services Consultant
Tell us about your company?
I work for Wipro technologies and help oil and gas companies modernize their business using the most recent emerging technologies such as machine learning, internet of things and blockchain. I also recently started a digital community called "Wall Hangers" for people interested in sharing stories about hunting and fishing. I use a mobile app called Mighty Networks to enable the digital community. Finally, I'm writing my first book, which is focused on helping people as they enter the consulting business.
What do you love most about your job?
I'm usually working on an industry first type project by leveraging a new technology to solve complex issues. For example, I've helped improve customer loyalty using mobile technology, enabled connected cars using the internet of things and, developed predictive maintenance solutions using advanced analytics in the past year. I've also helped with a number of blockchain projects focused on the supply chain. Recently I've been helping fortune 500 companies use crowdsourcing to address digital skill gaps and accelerate the number of digital projects they can work.
What motivates you to get up every day and go to work?
Being in the emerging digital technology business, I learn something new each day. By working with fortune 500 companies, I'm able to use those learnings to help solve enormously large problems.
How do your co-workers inspire you?
I've worked for HP, IBM and now Wipro. These companies represent a combined 250+ years of innovation. My co-workers ooze innovation and inspire our clients and me to tackle some of the world's largest business challenges and transformations. Together we are all riding the 4th industrial wave – the digitization of everything.
How do you have fun at work (team building, pranks, etc..)?
By keeping a sense of humor about as many things as possible.
What are some of the challenges of your job?
Change tends to make people uncomfortable. Digital change is especially uncomfortable because the skills required to keep pace are changing faster than ever and at an exponential rate. Digital technology has flattened the world more than ever, brought in a new cross-pollination of industries and pierced through traditional, national borders. So making sure my clients understand the reasons for change because of the complex digital wave we are living, yet keeping the change message simple enough to prevent paralysis by analysis is a challenge I face every day.
What are some lessons learned from a past project that you can share with us?
I've been around long enough to know there will always be the next best technology, methodology, and new way of working…but whether working a small or large project, the successful projects all have a focus on the team members success, recurring communication and set and meet the right level of expectations with stakeholders.
What advice would you give to someone who is starting in your industry?
There is not a prescriptive formula for consulting services, but experience matters. Find someone in a role that you want to be in the coming years and have that person mentor you. Then keep in touch.
Thank you for taking our pop quiz today. You get an A+ for effort. You can learn more about our interviewee and their business by visiting them on the web:
https://www.mightynetworks.com/ then search "Wall Hangers."


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NOTICE: Many events listed here have been canceled or postponed due to the Covid-19 emergency. It is best to call ahead or check with organizer's websites to verify the status of any local event.
|Oct 10
|No Limit Reunion Tour featuring Master P
|Find Tickets
|Oct 24
|Jacksonville IceMen vs. South Carolina Stingrays
|Find Tickets
|Oct 28
|Jacksonville IceMen vs. Norfolk Admirals
|Find Tickets
|Oct 30
|Jacksonville IceMen vs. Norfolk Admirals
|Find Tickets
|Nov 5
|Jacksonville IceMen vs. Florida Everblades
|Find Tickets
|Nov 7
|Jacksonville IceMen vs. Orlando Solar Bears
|Find Tickets
|Nov 21
|Jacksonville IceMen vs. Orlando Solar Bears
|Find Tickets
|Nov 25
|Jacksonville IceMen vs. Greenville Swamp Rabbits
|Find Tickets
|Nov 27
|Jacksonville IceMen vs. Atlanta Gladiators
|Find Tickets
|Nov 28
|Jacksonville IceMen vs. Atlanta Gladiators
|Find Tickets
Florida's Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena opened its doors to the public for the first time in 2003. The $130 million venue is a multi-purpose facility constructed in a state-of-the-art design to ensure acoustic excellence. Add a seated capacity of 15,000 to the equation, and you have what promises to be a truly world-class venue. The Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena now stands as one of the top live entertainment venues in Florida.In addition to being home to the Jacksonville Sports Hall of Fame, the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena also houses some of the area's finest sports teams; the AFL's Jacksonville Sharks, the ABA's Jacksonville Giants, and the Jacksonville University Dolphins men's basketball team all currently reside there. While live sports do inevitably form a major part of the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena schedule, the venue has plenty more on offer in the way of live entertainment.Elton John became the first performer to grace the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena's stage when it opened its doors in 2003. Since then, the venue has attracted many more of music's biggest names; Taylor Swift, Keith Urban, Britney Spears, The O'Jays, Black Eyed Peas and John Mayer are just a few of those featured on the schedule in the past.
Whether you're a Jacksonville local or a visitor to the area, there's no better spot to take in some live entertainment. Make Eventful your source for all the latest news and up-to-date event information from the Jacksonville Veteran's Memorial Arena, and start planning your visit by checking out the schedule right here!
Manage your venue info, images and keep your venue's schedule up to date on Eventful.Get Started Now!
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text:
Many decades ago, Americans may not have thought as much about drunk driving as they do today. The penalties weren't as tough back then, the media hadn't yet made anti-DUI messaging a priority, and drivers might not have known just how common and deadly the problem was. These days, though, almost no one can claim […]Read More
Car Accidents are the Leading Cause of Childhood Deaths
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), nearly two children are killed each day in car accidents. In fact, in 2015, "passenger vehicle occupants accounted for the majority of motor vehicle crash deaths for all age groups of children." Many of these deaths could have been prevented if a car seat was used […]Read More
Be safe with these summer motorcycle safety tips!
With the weather getting warmer and the days growing longer, outdoor activities are at the forefront of many of our minds. For those of us who enjoy motorized adventures on two wheels, spring is the time to dust off our motorcycles and get ready to hit the open road. Before taking advantage of the long […]Read More
Happy Birthday America
Here at Fuller & Fuller, Attorneys, we're gearing up to celebrate the Fourth of July and wanted to share some fun facts about Independence Day with you. The Fourth of July is when we celebrate our Founding Fathers signing the Declaration of Independence and launching our nation on its path to greatness, but there are […]Read More
What Should You do if You See an Intoxicated Driver?
Here is good advice from Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) from their web site at wwww.madd.org: First, stay as far away from the other vehicle as possible. Second, do not try to pass the vehicle or signal the driver to pull over. Doing so could result in a collision. Third, take notice of the license […]Read More


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Brown branches on a yew tree
Our yew tree is at least 50 years old. This spring it started getting orange branches, which are now turning brown . (Photos are taken from a second story window) Any ideas about what's causing that and what we can do about it? (We love this tree!)
Baltimore Maryland
1 Response
Yews do not like "wet feet." The immense quantities of rain we had this year is killing many yews in soil that is not draining well. Saturated soil do not have space for oxygen, which roots need to be healthy. Wet soil leads to root rots that kill the plant.
Prune out the dead branches. If possible, improve drainage. You may be able to change the grade nearby or divert water with landscape ties, rocks or a shallow gully or ditch.
Do not pile mulch on the trunk. Mulch should never touch trunks or be more than 2-3" deep.
Hopefully, not too much root has been damaged.


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Hot Topics
- Advice & Tips
- Alberta
- British Columbia
- Burial Insurance
- Business Insurance
- Car Insurance
- Children's Health
- Credit Cards
- Dental Insurance
- Disability Insurance
- Group insurance
- Health Insurance
- Home Insurance
- Life Insurance
- Manitoba
- Manulife
- Mortgage Insurance
- Motorcycle Insurance
- Nova Scotia
- Ontario
- Pet Insurance
- Prince Edward Island
- Renters Insurance
- Saskatchewan
- Term Insurance
- Travel Insurance
- Universal Life Insurance
- Vision Insurance
Parents Getting Up There? How to Buy Burial Insurance for Seniors
on 4 Apr, 2019
While a fair amount of policyholders are paying too much for life insurance, many of them aren't getting enough when...CONTINUE READING
Insurance for Funeral: Do You Need It or Is Life Insurance Enough?
on 30 Nov, 2018
The average cost of a funeral is around $11,000. And that number can vary wildly depending on the type of...CONTINUE READING
5 Ways a Funeral Insurance Policy Helps You Save Money
on 27 Nov, 2018
The average cost of a funeral in Canada ranges between $8,000 and $10,000. However, the total cost can be double...CONTINUE READING
Is a Burial Insurance Policy Worth Getting? Find Out Here!
on 22 Nov, 2018
Did you know that grief can cause sadness, anxiety, fear, and shock? If a loved one passes, and you are experiencing grief,...CONTINUE READING
Are Prepaid Funeral Plans a Good Idea?
on 14 Nov, 2018
Over 250,000 people die in Canada every year. What that number means on a human scale is that a quarter...CONTINUE READING
Burial Insurance vs Funeral Life Insurance: What's the Difference?
on 9 Nov, 2018
There is one day of your life that you never want to think about. You can't plan for it because...CONTINUE READING
Should You Go for Burial Insurance with No Waiting Period?
on 10 Nov, 2018
151,600 people die every single day. That is approximately one person every half second. Sure, almost no one likes talking...CONTINUE READING
Senior Term Life Insurance vs. Burial Insurance: Which Is Better?
on 13 Nov, 2018
Can't decide what type of life insurance you or someone you love needs? If you're inexperienced, they all sound the...CONTINUE READING
What You Can Expect From the Best Final Expense Insurance
on 8 Nov, 2018
As 60% of people go into their later years without a will, many won't have their funeral costs prepared for,...CONTINUE READING


text:
Early Reader Eats
Food Fight!
Pinky Dinky Doo : Where are my shoes? JREAD JINKINS- Level 3
Pinky Dinky can't find her shoes, so she uses baloney to cover her feet so she can go to school. When she gets to school, it turns out no one else can find their shoes either! Find out what happened to all of the shoes and what people at school put their feet in instead!
Watch the video version and other fun Pinky Dinky Doo video clips at:
One hundred sausages JPIC ZOMMER
Scruff the dog loves sausages! When all of the sausages at the local butcher shop disappear, Scruff is the prime suspect. But he didn't do it! Can Scruff find the real sausage thief and prove that he is innocent?
Music and a Craft!
Fun food songs
[sound recording] JCDMUS RAFFI
This CD includes silly classics like Down By the Bay, Oats and Beans and Barley, and Apples and Bananas, with a few newer songs like Peanut Butter Sandwich. Find lyrics to these songs and more at Raffi's website.
Turkey Treats
Check out the picture next door for some turkey treats that are fun and easy for kids to make!


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Texas Town to Host a .5k Run For the 'Underachievers'
A Texas town is hosting a race for the non-runners and "underachievers" out there. Boerne, Texas is hosting a .5K charity road race. No, that wasn't a typo.Instead of going the typical 3.1 miles a runner would normally run to complete a 5K, this race will only be .31 miles, or about 545 feet. The race is being announced as a race "for the rest of us," and the "underachievers."
Of course donuts and beer will be provided at this event. And just in case things get too crazy, the event description also notes, "A possibly fully staffed, or not staffed at all, (a) medical tent will be in place, you know, just in case. 546 yards is nothing to take too lightly."
Unfortunately, registration for the event is full, but if you're feeling generous you can register for VIP which includes no running at all! The race will take place Saturday, May 5. You can find more information here.


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Lemurs & Leeches
I went to Madagascar with my family for a week. Amazing experience. Beautiful country. And no, we didn't meet King Julian of movie fame (the awesomely obnoxious lemur from the animated movie Madagascar).
But we did meet some lemurs up close and personal. And boy, do those creatures like to move it, move it! They can certainly leap around. A few even landed on our shoulders (true story).
We also encountered another jungle resident. Leeches.
Insect vampires about the size of an inch worm. Except not as cute or cuddly or slow. Oh, and here's a fun fact: jungle leeches can move FAST. They aren't inching along, that's for sure.
I'll wait for you to make a mental note of that fact.
So there we were – husband, daughter and me – hiking through a national park. Minding our own business. Taking only photos. Leaving only footprints and a banana peel.
My daughter screamed.
A leech had landed on her hand.
Before we could act, react or run in the opposite direction, she scraped her hand against a tree trunk. A few attempts dislodged the little bloodsucker.
Disaster averted. Until…
I casually rubbed my hand against the back of my neck.
You know that moment when you realize something nasty? Like you just stepped in fresh dog poop with your brand new shoes on the way to a wedding. Or the electricity cut before you finished boiling water for your morning tea.
Yeah. That feeling.
My fingers brushed against an inch-length, worm-like creature. The leech took the hint and immediately leaped onto my hand.
Wrong hint.
I yanked my hand forward and began shouting, "Leech! Leech!" The word echoed through the jungle as I flicked my hand and tried to brush the disgusting little insect off me.
Remember that factoid about how speedy those suckers are?
It dodged my efforts and wove in between my fingers faster than my eyes could track. (I'll pause here to let you shudder in fascinated horror.)
My husband shouted at me to come down the path so the guide could help me. The guide was crashing through the underbrush to try to reach me. My daughter was jumping up and down in shared disgust and terror, hopefully crushing other leeches under her boots.
I began hitting my hand against a tree trunk. No way was I walking down the path. Because I knew the minute I stopped pummeling my hand, the leech was going to sink its little fangs into my skin. And I'd take a bruise over a bite any day.
The guide came into view.
The leech paused in its mad dash around my hand.
I took the opportunity to scrape my hand against the tree. The rough bark must've snagged the leech. Or maybe the critter got tired. Don't know. Don't care. As long as that sucker was off me, I was good. Traumatized. But good.
I compulsively checked my neck and hairline for any other unwanted guests. I made my daughter and the guide check as well. Then I pulled the hood of my rain jacket over my head and tightened the drawstrings.
We continued to hike. Humidity and heat increased. That jacket stayed on, fully zipped up. No way was I exposing any more of my skin than absolutely necessary.
Apart from that, it was a great trip! Here's a few more photos for your viewing pleasure.


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Duvel Moortgat USA makes big gains following combination with Firestone Walker.
he Brewers Association—the nonprofit trade group representing small and independent craft brewers—today released its annual lists of the top 50 American breweries, as measured by beer volume sold. In 2016, 40 of the top 50 overall breweries are what the BA considers "craft," which means the brewery is "small" (annual production of six million barrels of beer or less), "independent" (at least 75 percent owned or controlled by a craft brewer) and "traditional" (at least 50 percent of the beer produced by the brewery is made with "traditional or innovative" ingredients). In 2015, 43 of the top 50 breweries met this definition.
Source: Brewers Association releases 2016 lists of top 50 breweries by volume | DRAFT Magazine


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HR management is important for you, your employees, and your workplace culture.
Insights – a word that every HR department has a love-hate relationship with. When it's thrown around in conference rooms, meetings, proposals, and pitches, it's often reduced to being a buzzword with no real significance or impact. But when it comes to workplace culture, HR insights do matter.
Culture is something that is often arbitrated in a company's Human Resources department. Before discussing these insights, though, it might be helpful in establishing a basic understanding of the purpose of having an HR department, and what HR management entails. The department or support systems responsible for personnel sourcing and hiring, applicant tracking, skills development and tracking, benefits administration and compliance with associated government regulations.
Not only is HR management important for you, your employees, and your company and workplace culture, it's a crucial safeguard to any potential legal problems. Whether your culture is poor, sufficient, or wildly successful, HR is an area of concern from which insights can always benefit and support your culture, and therefore your business. With no further ado, here are three HR insights that will propel your workplace culture this year:
Align, or realign, your employees to your company identity.
Your company's central purpose, shared values, and common goals aren't just a marketing ploy. If your employees aren't aligned in purpose, values, and goals, your culture will go awry. This insight requires you to tap into the emotional bond that you share with your employees, and the emotional connection that they share with each other.
Concerning culture, emotions are tied to everything – motivation, productivity, engagement, satisfaction, and more. Are you having trouble doing this? Tools like Deloitte's CulturePath provide innovative assessments on culture-indices that are directly tied to business outcomes. Obviously, using this insight to your culture's benefit requires a high level of emotional intelligence and great leadership. That should go without saying. We don't live in a perfect world. This HR insight is something that, even in the best of times, must be held to a high priority, or your culture just might deviate towards a workforce that only shows up for a paycheck.
Employee engagement surveys are still functional and useful.
According to a survey sponsored by CultureiQ, the three most common ways that HR departments manage corporate culture are employee engagement surveys (55 percent), culture committees and events (29 percent), and employee resource groups (20 percent). When it comes to HR, a lot of people will tell you not to reinvent the wheel – or try to reinvent the wheel. While I'll tell you to take that with a grain of salt, because technology has taken HR management into digital realms that the corporate world has yet to adequately adapt to, I do stand by employee engagement surveys.
Even in the most open of open-office layouts – a characteristic of millennial corporate culture that's growing in popularity – there are issues and concerns that go unnoticed or are buried. Issues and concerns that only surveys can uncover. In this case, anonymity is usually recommended. What employee engagement surveys will provide to your HR department is a mix of qualitative and quantitative data straight from the source and unhindered by fear of consequences.
Educate and learn.
One of this year's Top 10 HR Trends is continuous learning. This has always been an important insight, but especially in the age of technology. Success in business calls for your company's need to be an organization that values learning and development. While the average length of professional careers remains past the half-century mark, the average tenure at a job sits at four and a half years, and the half-life of a learned skill is about five years.
What this HR insight suggests is that your culture should nurture learning and embrace change. Disruptive technology is making it difficult for companies, large and small, to adapt to our world's new dynamic corporate environment. As always, leadership is a key determining factor in what Learning and Development (L&D) looks like for your company. This leaves no place for ego or pride as you and your company's leadership need to be willing and eager to learn from anyone within your company. With that said, teach and learn the right things. Technology should be a tool, not a weapon, that's learned and applied to your company's strategies.
Above all, always trust the process. It takes a positive mindset and a whole lot of optimism to understand and employ these HR insights for the benefit of your culture. A great way to approach HR insights, be it aligning everyone to your company's core purpose and beliefs, using employee engagement surveys, being committed to constant learning, or more, is to be proactive. Don't wait until you need them. Your culture will thank you for it!


text:
Quantum Surface and Interface Research Unit
Principal Investigator
|PI Name
|Shuaihua Ji
|Unit Leader
|Brief Resume
Our research unit focuses on the emergent phenomena on the surface/interface of the newly discovered topological related quantum materials, such as topological insulators and topological crystalline insulators. We are interested in the fundamental properties of those symmetry protected surface states. In particular, we are interested in topological surface states with the gap opening induced by the time reversal symmetry breaking, or gauge symmetry breaking, or interaction of two surface states through tunneling effect, which could lead to the exotic phenomena, such as surface quantum hall effect, topological magnetoelectric effect and topological superconducting.
Research Fields
Physics, Material Science
Scanning tunneling microscopy
Low dimensional superconductors
Topological quantum matters
Thin films and interfaces
Surface and heterogeneous interfaces
Discovery of robust in-plane ferroelectricity in atomic-thick SnTe
Stable ferroelectricity with high transition temperature in nanostructures is needed for miniaturizing ferroelectric devices. Here we show the robust in-plane ferroelectricity in atomic-thick SnTe with much enhanced Tc comparing with bulk counterpart. We use the molecular beam epitaxial technique to prepare ultra-thin ferroelectric SnTe films of few unit-cell (UC) thickness on graphene/SiC(0001) surface. We discover stable in-plane spontaneous polarization in SnTe films of only a few UC thickness. The ferroelectric domain structures, lattice distortion, band bending induced by bound charge at edge of films, and the domain wall movement under electric field are clearly observed in SnTe films by using scanning tunneling microscope. The ferroelectric transition temperature Tc of 1-UC SnTe film is greatly enhanced from the bulk value of 98 kelvin and reaches as high as 270 kelvin. Moreover, 2- to 4-UC SnTe films show robust ferroelectricity at room temperature. The significant enhancement of Tc is mainly related to the strongly reduced free carrier density, which can screen ion-ion interaction, in high quality ultra-thin films. The in-plane lattice expansion in thin film may also facilitate the Tc enhancement.


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On her birthday, I pulled her out of school early to get these pretty little things on her ears:
Next, as a family, she wanted to go swimming at an indoor pool. I "accidently" forgot to take pictures of that. The water was warm and we all had fun playing "Marco-Polo", racing, and playing on the water slides. We ended up getting McDonald's for dinner due to the lack of time. It wasn't her top pick. In fact, if she could've, we would have ended up at Red Lobster for some lobster, shrimp, and crab. When we got home, we sang Happy Birthday, ate a Hello Kitty cupcake concoction and ice cream, and opened presents. She loved the outfit she got from Grandma and Grandpa D, the makeup she's been dreaming about for a year now from Grandma and Grandpa Price, and a makeup mirror and Littlest Pet Shop toys from us. I think it was the best birthday ever! She was all smiles that day.


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Monthly Archives: January 2014
Teacher Evaluation Improvements in the Works at K-State
K-Staters, Welcome to February! I hope your first two weeks of class have gone well and that you've made it to Bramlage at least once to cheer on the men's and women's basketball teams! Today, I'd like to update you … Continue reading
Posted in SGA 434 Comments
Enhancing Mobility: Continuing to Make Progress
Happy Spring Semester, K-State! I hope your new classes are off to a good start and that you're surviving the cold temperatures — spring is on its way, or so they say! Since being elected last spring, one of the … Continue reading
Posted in SGA 273 Comments


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DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland will begin a new phase of no-deal Brexit preparations on Wednesday with a call to action encouraging businesses to increase their level of preparedness, the government said after its weekly Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
"The government was this evening briefed on the latest position on Brexit negotiations between the EU and UK, and in that context, noted the increasing risk of a no deal Brexit on 31 October," a government statement said.
"The government also noted that a number of exercises are planned for the coming weeks to help further refine preparations and inform the approach to emergency crisis management in the event of a no deal Brexit."
Reporting by Padraic Halpin; editing by Jonathan Oatis
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.


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There are various ways that big data analytics can assist the insurance industry. Below are a few examples of this.
Predicting Fraudulent Claims
One of the most effective and prominent uses involves handling the abundance of fraudulent claims made by customers. These claims occur on a regular basis and often have a significant impact on company profits. OLSPS Analytics' fraud prediction solution is designed specifically to reveal and prevent such cases of insurance fraud.
Churn Prediction
Furthermore, insurance companies operate in a competitive market, where attracting new clients and reducing customer churn is a high priority. OLSPS Analytics' churn prediction solution identifies the sources of customer churn and yields accurate timely predictions, providing these companies sufficient time to take appropriate action and prevent the loss of customers.
Market Segmentation
Small inaccuracies in market analysis can lead to major financial losses. Our market segmentation solution provides further valuable insights by analysing and segmenting markets into clusters of defining characteristics. Companies are subsequently able to design customised insurance packages and more personalised market strategies targeting these market segmentations, thus attracting more customers to make use of their services.
Risk Segmentation
Our scorecard solution can be used to help companies mitigate risks by ranking customers relative to a target. For example, in the insurance industry, this solution is used to mitigate moral hazard and adverse selection risks by assigning accurate risk profiles to current and potential customers.
Analysing customers and the market is vital; however, a company's front-line management and sale staff also has a significant impact on the revenue generated by these firms. Therefore, our workforce analytics solution, Enjol, has been specifically designed to uplift and maintain the performance of these staff members by making use of modern principles of workspace psychology, survey tools and predictive analytic models. Enjol is ideal for companies with a large employee base, where keeping track of the wellbeing of all staff members on a regular basis requires a lot time and resources and is often unrealistic.


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We did our research, we asked the questions, we looked up VMWare KB articles and Nimble best practices guide. Everything we read said the maximum file size is 2TB minus 512bytes. Even VMWare support told us this.
This is all true, UNLESS you want to snapshot the machine that has that VMDK associated to it.
Then the maximum VMDK file size is 1.9845TB. To be safe we now make VMDK's 1.98tb.
This was very very frustrating for us because the error message VMware was throwing was not descriptive at all. We were getting this.
is larger than the maximum size supported by datastore '
What was also extremely frustrating is that we called Vmware several times on this issue and no one really knew the answer until is was escalated up the chain. We were told repeatedly that we should be able to take a snapshot on a 1.99tb vmdk.
Here is the Vmware KB article they sent us explaining the problem.
Creating a snapshot for a virtual machine fails with the error: File is larger than maximum file size supported
Things like this really make me question using VMWare and paying for premium support with them. In my opinion this should have been resolved in less than 30 minutes, not 6 hours.
Once the Nimble install is done, I'll start looking at Hyper-V in 2012 and see what it offers. XenServer has too many problems to replace VMWare in my environment.


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Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. Many in my family love to cook and we always have delicious food, but more importantly, my family has a tradition we call, "Share Time." One by one, from the youngest to the oldest, we share what we are thankful for and then encourage another member of our family to do the same. It's a sweet time for our family to be together and remember what has happened over the year. I hope you have time, as you make your Thanksgiving plans, to gather around a table with your family and friends and share why you are thankful this year. If you're looking for tried and true traditional Thanksgiving dish, I'd love to share my family's favorites. Many blessings for a Happy Thanksgiving!
Aunt Sandra's Homemade Yeast Rolls
- 3 ½ teaspoons rapid rise yeast (1 ½ pkgs)
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 cups hot tap water – not boiling, but hot to the touch
- ½ cup butter-flavored Crisco, melted
- 5 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 stick butter, melted
In a large bowl (or using an electric mixer with a dough hook) mix hot water, sugar, and salt. Add yeast and melted shortening. Slowly add the flour and mix until dough begins to form. Work the remaining flour into the dough with your hands (or with the mixer on low speed). Knead dough until smooth and elastic. Place dough in a large bowl and cover with a clean dish cloth. Let the dough rise until doubled in size (about an hour) in a warm area of your kitchen. Punch down the dough and knead for five minutes. Prepare 2 rimmed cookie sheets by adding 4 tablespoons of melted butter to each. Tilt the sheets in all directions to coat the bottoms with the butter. Pinch off pieces of dough and shape into rolls. Lay the rolls on the buttered sheets, turning them over so that they're coated with butter on both sides. Let rolls rise another 30-45 minutes. Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes or until brown. Enjoy immediately.
Cheesy Broccoli Casserole
(A slightly different take on the traditional green bean casserole)
- 2 (16 oz) bags frozen broccoli florets, thawed
- 1 (10.75 oz) can cream of mushroom soup
- 1 (8 oz) carton sour cream
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
- 1 (6 oz) can French fried onions, divided
Preheat oven to350°F. Mix thawed broccoli, mushroom soup, sour cream, 1 ½ cups cheese, and 1 cup fried onions in a large bowl. Spread in a baking dish that has been sprayed with non-stick spray. Cover with foil and bake at 350°F for 30 minutes. Stir well and continuing baking for another 30 minutes. Remove from oven and uncover. Sprinkle with additional cheese and fried onions. Bake uncovered for another 10 minutes until onions are crisp and cheese is melted. Serve immediately.


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10,576 Followers
Meet George, 27 years old from Greece
"I made this playlist because I love music and I am an artist myself"
What music did you grow up listening to as a young kid?
Name one of your favorite albums of all time?
Hybrid Theory by Linkin Park
Do you play any instruments? If no, which instrument do you wish you could play?
I play the bass and I sing.
Do you have a hidden talent?
What is your favorite quote?
Just Go!
Go check out his amazing youtube channel as well! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVpKnb1noTz2B-kuyVCZvdw


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Mason Makaio Farley is HERE!!!!
My beautiful big sister gave birth today to my first nephew... a big, healthy boy. He was delivered around 1:45pm and is a whopping 9lbs 3oz measuring 22inches long. I can't wait to meet him. Way to go Farley Family! To see pictures, keep checking their family website.


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Enter PhotoScissors Software. This showed up in my email this morning -- a deal from Mighty Deals, my go-to site for all that is hip and current in the world of fonts and design software. For only $9.97, you get this easy-to-install, easy-to-use software that lets you eliminate backgrounds from your photos in literally under a minute!
The regular price is $19.99, on sale for $9.97 though 7/27/15. Get the deal here: PhotoScissors Software Deal
I've even prepared a short video for you to show you how to use it: PhotoScissors Tutorial


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1. Managing Regen Energy
Short cycles, many repetitions: The classic case of a buffer functionality, which the KSM 4.0 perfectly manages. It leads to a calm voltage level in the DC-Link.
2. Reducing peak loads
Short power peaks stress the mains. The KSM 4.0 provides the necessary energy on command and smoothes the grid.
3. Managing failures of the mains
In case of a failure of the mains the KSM 4.0 keeps the system running - for the whole time the amount of energy in its storage was designed. And not only one or multiple drives, but also for the peripheral devices on the 24 VDC-grid via the NEV.
4. Enabling grid-independent operation
If the power from the mains is only available every now and then, the KSM 4.0 delivers the required energy with its connected storages. The same applies here: Not only for one or multiple drives but also for the peripheral devices via the NEV.


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I managed to get hit by a rock, and it cracked the windshield, so I'm looking at replacement now.
My service advisor quoted $1500-ish, and made some statement about how non-OEM glass would be cheaper, but BMW might not honor the warranty around leaks and things if they don't do the replacement with OEM glass.
My insurance company (Progressive) tells me that I'd be $400 out-of-pocket in addition to the deductible if I go with OEM glass, so it's a pretty substantial price difference.
For those of you that have had a BMW before, is that really true?


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Marta Lolita. Age: 22. Hello my name is Marta. I am a true lolita, I have 18 years and body of a teenager girl. I am eager to meet you,i have learned a few things but I want to learn many more with you. I learn quickly if you are willing to teach me;)
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Manuela Schieber. Age: 24. Escort Manuela Schieber is a young German Girlfriend of high class.An erotic lady with a fascinating face. She is very interested in fashion and lifestyle. The favorite perfume of Dior is Manuela and with red roses can be your deep joy.


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Here's the thing. COVID-19 stinks. It's taking people's lives, putting folks at risk, depriving people of income, robbing students of their experiences, stealing people's interactions and activities, and creating uncertainty to name a few of its negative effects.
But God is good. So inherently good. And His character is unchanging. So, God sees a bad thing, this terrible virus, and He figures out a way to use it for some good stuff. This is who our God is.
So, we are convinced that every detail of our lives is continually woven together to fit into God's perfect plan of bringing good into our lives. Romans 8:28
I've read and listened to so much quality content about finding time to slow down, to be still, to breathe deeply, to listen to God, to stop striving, to take Sabbath. And as I read and listened, I agreed in my head, Yes! What a great idea! But these great ideas take a ton of intentionality. Over the past year I've gotten better at taking Sabbath, but I've been fighting obstacles and interruptions to do so. Even with a Sunday slow down, the rest of life in general pre COVID-19 was overstuffed and supersized. Every square on our white board calendar in the kitchen was full. In a world where games, practices, and rehearsals are scheduled every night of the week, it was tricky to gather our family together around the dinner table. Most meals were more grab-and-go or eat-at-your-own schedule—things like tacos.
Sundays aren't sacred to the general public so out of town tournaments and meets were standard Sunday fare, putting a wrench on our family, and maybe yours too, attending church together. Personally, our overscheduled, exhausted Smith family's typical weekend was titled "divide and conquer" as my husband and I went different directions to support and cheer on our kids in their activities. This life is not a bad one. In fact, it's a great one—a full and vibrant one that I wouldn't trade for anyone else's life. I'm thrilled my kids get the opportunities they have. I'm grateful for their dedicated coaches and directors, their encouraging teammates and casts. It's a beautiful thing to see our children step in and use the talents God's gifted them. I'm thankful for a husband who is such a fantastic dad engaged with the kids and willing to help with all the things. But the kids were tired, and we were tired. We were.
But over the last week and a half, like it or not, we've been at home. As I'm sure you've noticed everything is cancelled, and we have been forced to slow down. Our family has eaten dinner together every night. Celebrated church together in our family room. Played games. Tossed hands of cards. Had family movie nights. Gone on runs and walks. Listened to worship music. We're all better rested. I see my kids reading their Bibles, journaling, doing devotions. No, this doesn't undo the suffering of the virus. No this doesn't give my kiddos back the things they were looking forward to that were cancelled, but I see God in this. I see Him taking something rotten and creating beautiful opportunities for His kids (that's you and me) to rest, recharge, and reunite.
Our family has eaten dinner together every night. Celebrated church together in our family room. Played games. Tossed hands of cards. Had family movie nights. Gone on runs and walks. Listened to worship music. We're all better rested. I see my kids reading their Bibles, journaling, doing devotions. No, this doesn't undo the suffering of the virus. No this doesn't give my kiddos back the things they were looking forward to that were cancelled, but I see God in this. I see Him taking something rotten and creating beautiful opportunities for His kids (that's you and me) to rest, recharge, and reunite.
I see Him doing all kinds of beautiful things.
The gorgeous canals in Venice, Italy are clearer than when I had the privilege of visiting ten years ago, clearer than they've been for a very long time. No boats or barges running along the water has cleared up the typically cloudy waterways so much so that you can see the fish where vaporetti usually zoom.[1]Carbon dioxide emissions in China have dropped 25% since January. Again, God hates to see the sick, the infections, the financial struggles, but I notice Yahweh taking this awful thing and using it as an opportunity to give His world a spring cleaning.
People are reaching out. Giving what they have to offer. Loving their neighbors. Just like Jesus asked us to. Professional athletes are donating their salaries to arena workers. Fitness instructors like those at Root Yoga and Apps, like the FaithFit project, are offering free virtual workouts. Superstar musicians like Kelly Clarksonand John Legend are singing from home, creating free live performances, on their social feeds for their fans.
We don't know how this is all going to pan out. But I do know that Jesus is still on the throne. That God is still good. And that He is on our side. As we all continue to shift our patterns, schedules, and expectations due to the effects of the coronavirus, I'm grateful that Christ is the solid rock I stand on. The world is not the same today as it was last week or the week before. But Jesus is. And He is good. And He is taking what He can from this pandemic and using it to orchestrate some good.
Let's keep our eyes on Him, keep our feet planted in Him. Because Jesus is fully and completely good, we can all take an exhale. What He told the disciples just prior to His crucifixion, He tells us today, In the world there will be tribulation. But be of good cheer. I will overcome the world! John 16:33. God is fully aware of the horrible thing COVID-19 is, but be of good cheer. Jesus will find ways to make some good out of the mess, and even better, He'll overcome it.
Last weekend I:
Which shouldn't seem related at all, except they both dealt with the things we look to in life to find satisfaction and gratification, and how rarely that works out for us.
If you need a quick refresher, in Aladdin, a poor boy named, Aladdin comes across a magic lamp housing a genie. The genie pops out and tells Aladdin he can make three wishes. Hmmm…what would you do with three wishes? Have you ever considered what you would wish for? A new house? A new job? More hours in the day? The genie warns Aladdin, "Here's the thing about wishes…the more you have, the more you want." Dang. Rings a little too true, doesn't it?
When we turn sixteen it seems like our biggest wish is to be able to drive. When we get our license, we want to borrow our parents' car. Then we wish we had our own car—any car that moves. Then we want a car with a few bells and whistles. As we get older we might wish for fancier cars—with leather interiors and fabulous sound systems and heated seats (I'm not that into cars, but I do enjoyheated seats). Most writing friends I know have at one time or another "wished" to be published. If they achieve that goal, their next wish is to get another book published, with a bigger publisher, or to sell more copies, or perhaps a multi-book deal, or the ultimate—to be a New York Times Bestseller. All of these are great goals. But at the beginning "being published" felt like the end all. The problem is, there is no end all. The wishes never end.
Renters dream of one day owning a home. Once we buy that "fixer upper" we long for a new kitchen counter, then a kitchen remodel. And while we're getting a new sink for the kitchen wouldn't it be gorgeous if we replaced the sinks in the bathrooms, too? Before we know it we're drooling over Pinterest homes and wishing for more and different than what we have. For athletes it could be an initial goal of making the team, then moving up to the "A" team, hoping for playing time, being in the starting lineup, scoring the points, winning the games, being the MVP. The more you have…the more you want. Most of us are guilty of it in some form or another.
The old man in Hemingway's classic wasn't materialistic. He lived in a hut and owned one pair of pants. But he wanted to catch the biggest fish and would stop at nothing to get him. For three days the fisherman held onto his line, so this big fish would not be the one who got away. Meanwhile the old man's hands were ripped raw from the tugging and pulling of the fishing line. All the man had to eat were a couple of raw fish, all the while being towed by a giant marlin through the depths of the sea. On the brink of dehydration, the man rationed one bottle of fresh water over the course of sunsets and rises and barely slept a wink, putting his body and mind in extreme danger. For over eighty days the man had wished for one great fish. Now it was hooked on his line. Be careful what you wish for old man.
And I feel the warning being screamed at me, too. Be careful what you wish for, Laura. What am I wishing for? What are you wishing for? What do we think we need to feel complete? Like we've arrived? If we only had/did/achieved/looked like ______ we would be happy.
Really? Because as soon as we get/earn/appear like that, we usually wish for more.
Except when we have Jesus. He is the one thing that satisfies us once and for all. He is the bread of life, the living water. He told the people who encountered Him they would never need anything else. All they had to do was believe in Him.
Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water (water from a well) will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life."—John 4:13
Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty." —John 6:35
Completely, 100% satisfied. Never needing again. When we walk in the peaceful, grace-filled life Jesus offers this is what we receive. Sure, we still could use some money to pay our bills. We still pray for healthy relationships, for joy to fill the hearts of those we love. But we find all of our actual needs are provided for—that our longings are fulfilled. That desire for more and then a little more is squelched, because with Jesus we finally feel whole.
Don't get me wrong. There are still lots of things I want. A python pair of boots or that pink fuzzy jacket would be fun for fall. A serving of warm apple cobbler topped with creamy ice cream would be delicious. An extra hour of sleep would be divine. Heck, I'd take the half hour. But if I don't get those things, I'm still fine, thoroughly content. Because all those little twinge-y incomplete parts of my heart have been filled in by a Savior who loves me no matter what I'm wearing, who's sweeter than any decadent desert, and who provides rest for my tangled up soul.
If you had a magic lamp what would you wish for? If you could go out to proverbial sea one more time what would you hope to catch? It's wonderful to have dreams and goals. Jesus calls us to be brave, live large, and go out there and use the gifts He's given us to live bold, radical, fruitful lives. But at the end of the day whether we achieved or did not, won or lost, were noticed or ignored, we are fully seen and fully loved by our Perfect Savior. That itch? That something missing? That void we're striving to fill? Jesus satisfies and fills it. He is everything we need. And His love and grace never ever run out.
My wish? Is that you feel Jesus' love today, how it completes you, and satisfies like nothing you could ever set out to catch.
Do You Want It Or Need It?
I want my kids to stay home and not return to school. I want the evenings to stay long, the air to stay warm, and to all sit around on the screened-in-porch laughing and talking with a soundtrack of crickets playing in the background.
What do you want right now? The starting position? The starring role? A different relationship status?
In Disney's The Princess FrogTiana and Prince Naveen show up at Mama Odie's with green skin, sticky, pink tongues, and covered in mucous. They want to be turned back into humans. But Mama Odie cautions the two "frogs" against striving for what they want, and instead digging deeper to discover what they need. Hmmm.Maybe I should do the same.
Summer forever sounds good and glorious in my mind, but God is way wiser than Mama Odie or me. He knows my kids need to go back to school. If they didn't their soccer seasons would never commence, they wouldn't have the conversations that will grow, challenge, and inspire them, play the music orchestrated for them, or audition for the roles they're itching to act in. If my kids stayed home I would never complete the book I'm working on. If it stayed summer the leaves wouldn't turn vibrant orange and deep scarlet, the apples wouldn't ripen, crisp and tart, and we'd never get sweet, frothy Pumpkin Spiced Lattes. Tragic.
Can you picture a year without fall? What would I be forfeiting if I got what I want? We think we know what we want, but God knows better what we need.
How can I be so sure? Experience, for one thing. If all the relationships I'd wanted to work out had, I wouldn't have married my incredible, loving husband. If we'd been able to purchase the house we wanted to buy when we moved back to Ohio, we wouldn't have enjoyed our home for the last eighteen years. If my company had granted me the part-time position I wanted after having my first baby, I wouldn't have pursued writing. And that's just a sampling of the times God knew way better than I did what was best for me.
I also know God is wiser and more capable than me from reading scripture:
God's voice is glorious in the thunder.
We can't even imagine the greatness of His power. – Job 37:5
He is clothed in dazzling splendor.
We cannot imagine the power of the Almighty. —Job 37:22-23
This glorious, great, dazzling, powerful, Almighty God of ours knows what He's doing and has the power to make it happen. He loves us more than we can hope or fathom. Shouldn't we trust Him to take care of our needs?
What do you want?
What do you need?
Because they're not always the same thing. I see this as a parent. My kids want to stay up later—which means they'll be exhausted the next day. They want giant bowls of ice cream, which are tasty in the moment. But if they only ate ice cream, they'd get cavities and face some health issues. Mama Odie suggests to the two frogs who want to return to human form, to consider where happiness comes from before they make a wish. How do we dig deeper?
By praying. It's that simple. Talk to Jesus. Tell Him you're worn out, excited, nervous, sad, tired of waiting, not sure what to do next. Tell Him your hopes and dreams—what you want. He already knows exactly what's on your heart. But He also knows exactly what will fill you with joy, help you thrive, and saturate you with peace. Yes, we all want things. But why not turn those wants into conversations. Then take time to listen to what God whispers, walk away from the doors He shuts, peek through the windows He opens, act upon His nudges, and trust Him in the process.
Our God is glorious. And He loves you so much. He might not give you everything you "want." But He will provide you with everything you need, plus more than you could ever imagine.
On a stroll through the formal gardens my youngest picked up this leaf hole-punched by insects, held it in front of his face and peered at me. We took turns looking through the leaf, still able to see each other, the sunny marigolds and the scarlet impatiens, but everything was muted, less vibrant. It was odd to be able to see, and yet not. As the bees buzzed overhead and the July sun warmed our skin, I pondered where I need to pull away the metaphorical leaf from my face, so I can see God and His plans for me more clearly.
In the movie, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Walter has a beautiful, courageous imagination, but in real life he's complacent, bullied, lonely, and struggles to name a single interesting thing about himself. To keep his job Walter must step out of his daydreams, and in doing so experiences more than he ever realized was possible. This gorgeous film reminds me so much of the leaf. What has God put in our hearts that we're just imagining we could do or say today, that's right in front of us yet veiled by something easy to remove? Are we willing to step forward in faith, throw down the leaf, and transform our daydreams into realities?
Because God doesn't want us living a partial life, seeing things from a muted perspective. He wants us to get going and live fully. He has so much in store! In Hebrews 12:1 we learn we were made to run the race, not cheer on the sidelines. Paul tells the church in Corinth not to sit and think about doing the work God has called them to, but to, "Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for Him is a waste of time or effort. Paul tells the church in Ephesus to run on the road God calls us to travel. King David prays in Psalm 119, "Oh that my steps might be steady, keeping to the course you set; then I'd never have any regrets in comparing my life with your counsel."
To have no regrets. Yes, please! That's the road I want to travel. One without regrets. One where I don't look back and wonder what it would have looked like if I'd been willing to open my eyes, take action, and act upon God's promptings.
What is God nudging you to do? That place He wants you to go, thing He wants you to try, person He wants you to meet? What's holding you back?
Sure...everything has a price--time, money, energy--are some of the costs of pursuing dreams. But ask anyone who's completed the marathon they felt inspired to run, climbed the mountain God whispered they should climb, taken the step where God pointed them to walk, if it was worth it. The answer is almost always the same--it was better than they imagined.
Does it feel like God is leading you to further your education? Order yourself a GRE, SAT, GMAT, LSAT, or MCAT prep book, (Amazon will get it to you by tomorrow), sign yourself up to take the test, and start researching programs. Has God given you an itch to travel, to see more of the world He created? Book yourself a cheap plane ticket on Kayak or convince a pal to take a road trip with you to a city you've never visited.
My son and I crossed a bridge and gazed at the gorgeous reflection of the sky and trees in the water. It looked so real--as if we were actually looking upward. But we weren't. If we keep thinking about what we could be and do, but don't take any steps toward doing it, it's like gazing at the reflection of trees in a stream instead of swimming in the water or climbing the trees. So let's stop thinking about it and dive in, climb upward, and embrace the glorious adventures God has in store.
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I was at the Ohio Christian Writer's Conference this week and had the pleasure of meeting a lovely group of up-and-coming writers. It was such an honor to sit and chat with them about all of the things God is calling them to do. One woman lost a son to suicide. In the midst of her own tragedy, she feels called by God to write a book to help others heal from similar traumas. I was blown away by her courage and love and obedience, to wade through her own pain to help others. Another woman lost her voice completely three days before the conference. But she came anyway. She took notes and attended a dozen one-on-one meetings communicating by writing questions and answers on her iPad and showing whoever she was speaking with her screen. Such bravery and faithfulness to come despite her ailment, to not give up, to move ahead. I have at least a dozen more stories of others I met who were bravely moving through doubt and worry and all of the excuses to start writing or speaking or blogging, because they felt God was asking them to. God called these folks to some extremely challenging things, but they stepped out in faith.
I came home from the event, changed into my soft red flannel pj pants (the ones with the snowflakes on them), made a hot cup of sweet and spicy apple cinnamon tea, and watched Evan Almighty with my youngest. Have you seen it? Lauren Graham from Gilmore Girls and Steve Carell from The Office star as a modern-day couple with three boys. God visits Evan (Carell), a newly elected congressman, and tells him to build an ark. 450 feet long. 75 feet high. Out of wood. By hand. Identical to what God calls Noah to do in Genesis 6:14-21. Which seems a bit crazy and completely impossible, as I'm sure it did to Noah.
The movie is hilarious and if you have to cast someone as God, Morgan Freeman makes a fabulous choice, but what struck me was this is exactly what God does. He asks us to do the wildest things, things that seem out of our realm, and out of our skillset. Just like He was calling the writers I met with at the conference. Just like that thing He's calling you to do, but you're not quite sure, or ready, or wonder how it will be received, or what the neighbors will think. But there's always purpose when God asks. Always. Some times no one else can see or believe why this task is important (like saving folks from an unforeseeable flood during a drought), but when we know God is calling, it's our job to take a step forward in faith, pick up our toolbox and start building.
Oh yeah, and that toolbox thing. When we think there's no way we could tackle this project, let alone complete it by ourselves, God puts all of the exact tools we need in our toolbox when we need them. Because we're not meant to do it on our own. God didn't call us to that. He'll be with us. Every step of the way. In Evan Almighty, God had a toolbox and truckloads of wood delivered to Evan's house. Plus, duh, God gave him a copy of Building an Ark for Dummies. God didn't make Evan shop for tools or expect him to know how to take on that construction project without guidance and materials. In the same way God has been filling your toolbox, too. Maybe He's given you a Bible verse and then another and another that totally speaks to what He's calling you to do. Maybe through a variety of what seemed like random encounters you've gotten to know someone who has expertise or contacts that could help launch you towards that next step. Perhaps God had you take a class in college, had you work a part-time job, or volunteer at that charity, so you could learn a skill that He's asking you to pull out of your toolbox now. And although you never knew you'd need that "saw," there it is sitting for you, right where God put it, all sharpened and ready to cut some wood.
I'm not going to tell you how the movie ends. Watch it on Netflix if you want to find out. But this is how Genesis Chapter 6 ends: So Noah did everything exactly as God had commanded him. Dang! I can't imagine how crazy Noah felt, how long it took to build that giant boat by hand, how many people mocked him daily, what is was like rounding up all of those animals, how many times he wanted to give up, how many times Noah, asked God, "Really?" But Noah knew God asked him to do it. And so he did. All of it. Exactly how God asked him to do it.
What is God asking you to do? What tools has He put in your toolbox? What's stopping you from starting? Don't let it stop you anymore. Grab a metaphorical saw or hammer and get building, because God asked you to, because He'll be with you, because He'll use it for something phenomenal.
As part of our #thankfulnessproject for the month of November, comment on the blog or Facebook or Instagram with either something you're thankful God has called you to do OR a tool you're thankful God has equipped you with, and then…start building your "ark."
P.S. If you haven't joined our #thankfullnessproject yet, it's not too late. Stop by Facebook and Instagram daily for prompts, so we can thank the good Lord together for all He does and provides.
Our family watched Jumanji the other night—the latest one with the Rock. The premise for the film is four high school students from different cliques all end up with detention together—think The Breakfast Club with a much nicer principal than Mr. Vernon.
During their Saturday morning punishment the four teens learn to appreciate one another for their true selves and discover greater understanding of their own strengths and weaknesses after being sucked into a video game. Each of the four students becomes a character in the game equipped with special super powers such as "dance fighting" and weaknesses—ranging from snake venom to mosquitos.
After watching I asked my kids, "What's your super power?" Some of them listed their talents—soccer, acting, music, etc. Some named things that sounded plain fun, like invisibility. When we chatted about our weaknesses we came up with snakes, mice, splinters, and not enough sleep.
We all have weaknesses—things that stop us in our tracks that might not bother anyone else. This could be an issue with our physical or mental health, an event in our personal history that left a permanent scar, a person who brings out the worst in us, an addiction or fear. Or maybe like one of the Jumanji characters admitted, "I explode when I eat cake." We don't like to talk about our real weaknesses, but we know what they are.
And our super powers? As Christians we have the mightiest powers of all up our sleeves. Like prayer. We get to talk one on one with the Lord God Almighty. Who gets to do that? Us, that's who! I mean we don't need an invitation, or permission, or a special V.I.P. pass. We don't need to know the right people, have the right credentials, or go through a security scan. We just get to talk to Him about anything and everything.
Not only do we get to talk to God, but we get to tap into His strength. What? Think of a strong force that literally wipes things out—hurricanes, earthquakes, avalanches—God makes those things. And we get to tap into that power. He's on our side. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us. –Ephesians 3:20
And how about this one? You probably won't see it in any Xbox games, because it's intangible, but this super power makes all the difference in the most trying situations—hope. Hope for a future. Hope for redemption. Hope because after Jesus was buried in a tomb, on the third day He sprang back to life claiming victory over the grave forever more. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. —Romans 15:13
As Christians we have a slew of super powers, but the most powerful of all is love. The apostle Paul explains this in a letter to the early church in Corinth, These three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love. Love never fails. --1 Corinthians 13:13-14:1. If you're a Harry Potter fan, take it from Dumbledore near the end of The Sorcerer's Stone. He explains to Harry how the powerful, evil Voldemort couldn't even touch young Harry, "Your mother died to save you. If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. He didn't realize that love as powerful as your mother's for you leaves its own mark. Not a scar, no visible sign... to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever. It is in your very skin." If that's the protection a fictitious boy wizard has from someone who died for him, think how much more protection we have from a Savior who died for us. A Savior who still lives! Love. We are loved by the God who created everything. He designed us. He wants to be with us. He didn't want to be separated from us, so He paid the ultimate price for us. And as a result we will live forever under His protection. It is in our very skin.
There are days that are rough. When we get a phone call from that person—the one who has a knack for making us feel small and incapable. Or waking up with a migraine, feeling like we'll throw up, and a handful of Advil and hours later instead of getting better, it has gotten so much worse it's almost paralyzing. The times we argue with someone we love, leaving both people depleted. The NO we receive when all we wanted to hear was YES. The days the thing we've been hoping to fix still appears broken. Jesus knows there will be seasons of pain and struggling in our lives. He warns, "In the world there will be tribulation." But with the line up of super powers Jesus leaves us—prayer, God's power, hope, and love, I feel like I can face anything. You can, too. Take it face on. Because the rest of Jesus' sentence was, "But be of good cheer. For I have overcome the world." —John 16:33.
Today you may or may not feel like a superhero. You may feel like the cute high school girl in Jumanji suddenly smashed into Jack Black's body being gobbled up by hippos. Like you don't fit. Like you're not supposed to be here. Like you just want to escape this situation. But even when we're out of breath, confused, angry, or frightened these powers are ours—immediately accessible, right this very moment. Talk to Jesus. Tap into His strength. Rest in the hope He offers. And collapse into His love. No matter how tough a challenge this level is, no matter how nasty the bad guys, no matter how much energy you do or don't have left, He has overcome the world.
We've had a lot of snow days here in Ohio. Which I positively love. It means kids frolicking in the woods, cups of sweet, creamy cocoa, card games, and movie nights. We went on a bit of a run--Ice Age: Collision Course (man, they've made a killing out of Sid the Sloth), Inkheart, and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
All these different movies had one thing in common—an entire undiscovered world in the midst of an undetected ordinary object in our world. In Ice Age, a whole colony of Zen animals lives and does yoga in the interior of a magnetic rock. In Inkheart, just read a few paragraphs of a book and the story comes to life, literally leaping out of the pages. Toto jumps out of Oz, scampers around your room and barks. Gold coins shower the floor, making you instantly rich if you read the right scene from Ali Baba, etc. And in Fantastic Beasts, Newt Scamander opens his briefcase and submerges into not only a workshop with food and medical supplies for his beasts, but caves, fields, and nests—habitats for all of his creatures. Reminder, this is all inside his briefcase. It struck me how strange this was—that three random movies we watched over an extended weekend all had this theme. But it speaks to something that tugs at our hearts—a knowledge that this world isn't all there is, a longing for something more than meets the eye. And so we keep turning the page, turning the corner, opening the wardrobe, banging into brick walls at train stations in hopes of ending up in Narnia or at Hogwarts.
Don't get me wrong. I love this wonderful life. I love my husband. I love my kids. I love living in a college town. I love being able to tell stories. I love our church, my mom, my friends, chocolate croissants and dark roast coffee. And I am so blessed that these are most of my moments.
But some parts are really, really hard. War and sickness and racism and trafficking and poverty are all unbearable, plus any personal battle you're currently facing. Thankfully, Jesus promises us more. Living with Him is like getting to spend a few moments inside of your favorite book—the colors are brighter, the air is sweeter, the music more melodic.
And one day, Jesus proclaims, He will put an end to all suffering, make everything new. 'He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Revelation 21:4-5
And that sounds pretty stinking amazing. Maybe it's why we keep searching for secret worlds, this longing to reach the land of no tears, no death, and no pain. And if you don't live in your imagination as much as I do, I'm guessing you still escape to other lands via movies, songs, art, and books—suspend time and go somewhere exotic, adventurous, or at least warm for a little while. The good news is this place exists. Not just in children's books or on movie sets. And although the passage from Revelation refers to end times, we get glimpses of this glorious living when we walk daily with Jesus. A warm, accepted feeling when you were all by yourself and feeling lonely. A few hours where the pain subsides for no reason you can pinpoint, but the relief is real. Someone stepping in to help you through a challenge, when you'd about given up hope. A stunning sunrise. A clear crisp song of a bird. A painting in a gallery that tugs at your heart. Sunlight refracting off snow crystals, sending out a rainbow of colors. A song you've never heard before that seems to speak to your exact feelings. A deer holding up his head and flashing his majestic antlers—brief moments of clarity, foreshadowing of brilliance.
Each day with Jesus is easier than one without. Because even in the midst of pain and sadness there is hope and there is love. When we hurt so much we don't know if we can bear it, when the tension builds up so thick we're not sure how we'll get through it, when the suffering or ugliness is so bitter or vile, we don't know if we can go on, we know that the Savior of the World loves us, is on our side, will never forsake us, will hold us up when we can't stand, and hold our hands when we start to shake. He will see us through. He will protect us in love. Although we might not see it from our vantage point, He has already won this battle. And the more time we spend with Jesus, the more we understand this—the more relief we feel, the more peace we find in the storms, the more perspective we gain in the whirlwind. Sometimes in those storms we see rainbows and in the wind we catch a treasure flying past. These are the previews of what we're searching for. It doesn't make life here on earth idyllic, but it makes it infinitely better.
fAnd then one day when we least expect it we'll open that wardrobe, or drawer, or window and discover the land we've always been seeking. As a character in The Last Battle (the final tale in C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia) puts it,
"I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now...Come further up, come further in!"
Until that day, you can find me eating chocolate, hugging the people I adore, loving and embracing my life. But I'll also be tapping on bricks and wandering through the snow seeing if I can find a secret alley or spot a lamppost. You never know.
I just saw the movie, Wonder. I loved the book and was grateful the movie stayed so true to the original story line—even switching point of view, so the reader/viewer could see the backstory of each of the characters. Just when you thought you disliked a character, you saw the pain they were dealing with and found yourself sympathizing. Just when you thought another character had everything easy breezy, you saw how they felt alone.
What a powerful reminder that everyone has highs and lows, experiences that bring them joy and issues they are wrestling with. The thing is, most of us bury the big stuff and make small talk about the weather or our favorite team. We can interact, intersect and never share what's on our hearts or discover what's on the hearts of those around us. What if we used the art of conversation to allow others to share their triumphs and traumas, so we can better cheer for them and hold their hands more tenderly?
Tis the time of year to be invited to scads of gatherings—for work, school, family, and any other group you've ever affiliated with. At all of these mixers, open houses, cookie exchanges, receptions, and pot lucks (whether you love chit chat or struggle with it) there will be conversations, and they will run the gambit.
There will be delicious food and festive decorations, hopefully there will be Christmas music. I've been listening to it since early November—yep, I'm that girl. But it's easy to let these celebrations come and go without utilizing these opportunities to learn new things, gain richer perspectives, encourage others, or better understand someone else's point of view. Everyone has a story. Everyone has struggles they're dealing with and ideas racing around their brains. We can learn so much by talking to one another. But it starts by asking better questions (oh, and yeah, putting our phones down).
What kinds of questions are you asking?
Some of you are born conversationalists. Topics flow from your mouth like tunes on Spotify. For me, I'm used to writing my thoughts out, so I'm more deliberate, but all of us can get better at communicating. The difference between a good question and a so-so question? I'm still learning, but I know when I ask my niece about her college search we both get more out of the chat if I ask, "What are your top three schools? What do you like about them?" than if I simply ask, "How's the college search going?" Ask something that requires more than a 'yes' or 'no' answer. It doesn't have to be ground breaking. "How was your day?" often emits a 'fine' from one of my kids. But "What did you do at recess?" or "How did you do on your test?" or "Who in your class gave their presentations today?" act as conversation starters to discover way more than a test question. The questions don't need to be original, just intentional. How do you like your new job? Apartment? Teacher? Coach? Roommate? Are great places to start.
Make sure you add in a tidbit or two of your own. I'm tempted to keep things to myself. But when we share, we engage others and make it easier and more comfortable for them to share too. This doesn't mean you have to divulge personal stuff, no need to over share, just be open to revealing a little about yourself in the process. I was chatting with a friend about an internship she'd had in Nashville. I mentioned I'd been to Nashville the week before. A whole new conversation sprang from my one sentence.
There will be times when no words come. There are challenges. Someone's not chatty or in a bad mood or distracted. Sometimes that person is you or me. We receive a one-word response or get asked a question we aren't comfortable answering. How about when the talk turns to politics? Or when you ask someone how he likes his new boss and he begins to rant? Or someone asks you something too personal or that touches a super sensitive spot. This is when we're called to steer conversations back to the good stuff. As the apostle Paul said, whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things and the God of peace will be with you. —Philippians 4:8. Not always easy, but great advice. If you feel the conversation veering away from these topics, try to steer it back.
Because people will gossip and complain. There will be chat about how terrible parking was at the mall or the horrible service at a certain store. There will be digs on the food served or 'can you believe she wore that?' I'm completely guilty of falling into these conversation patterns. It's easy to gripe. But it's also just as easy to speak about lovely and excellent things. The cinnamon rolls are burnt? Turn the conversation to how great the coffee tastes. The toddler out of control? Whisper a prayer of patience for the parent. Freezing outside for the family pic? Tell a joke to get people smiling. Offer to make hot cocoa as soon as everyone gives a good grin. But even better—start asking good questions. Ask for the cinnamon roll recipe, about the toddler's preschool, about how your brother knows the photographer. It's easy to complain. But we can find out so much more about one another, incredible things, important things, if we try.
There will be occasions where the conversation goes south. If it is not true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy and you can't turn it around, get out. If the entire group is in on the bashing or one person's voice is too loud (literally or figuratively) to mute, simply leave the conversation. Excuse yourself to go to the restroom, grab a snack, or see if the hostess needs help with anything. Take the moment away to reset (not to check your phone). You could repeat the verse above from Philippians, say a prayer, get a breath of fresh air, or whatever else centers you.
There will be times when you need to talk to about the hard stuff—things that are ugly and painful and scary. And that's 100% okay in the right setting with the right people, in fact it can be noble and right to do so. Yes! Share this stuff with your trusted inner circle, so they can comfort, advise, hold, and guide you back to the truth that God is on your side, that He loves you, that He has redeemed you, and that He will never forsake you. When people you care about approach you with their hardships and heartache, point them back to these truths. Remember, these conversations are not for large social gatherings. These are important, but critical that they are spoken in safe space.
I'm not an expert at any of this. Like I said, I'm fairly awkward at conversation. But I know my mother-in-law bowls and I don't. So I don't have many bowling questions in my repertoire. But I can ask who she bowls with and when, and in doing so find out more about her friends, which ones make her laugh, and how some days it's a struggle to get a ride. And all of a sudden these answers lead to new questions, and we end up understanding one another a little better. God created each person uniquely and amazingly. Use all the gatherings you'll attend this holiday season to get to know some of God's creations better, to shine some light, and to remind others of their worth—of their true reflections.
My husband and I joke that God's voice might sound a whole lot like James Earl Jones'. We were reminded of that tonight. We had a family movie night and watched Field of Dreams. I hadn't seen this movie since it first came out, which was closing on twenty years ago—yikes! But I still remembered the key line, "Build it and they will come."
You guys I feel like that all of the time. Like God is whispering to me, "Write it and they will read. Write about your kids' soccer games, what a bad driver you are, how you let a squirrel into church, peanut butter, that book you read."
And I think, "Eh? Really? Who wants to hear about that?"
And God, says, "Write it. Write if for Me. I'll do something with it."
And so I write. And I hope someone will read the words. But more importantly I pray over each blog that it will somehow impact somebody out there, that someone will understand how much God loves them just a little bit better. That someone will truly believe in their bones a milli-moment more that they are uniquely created by the ultimate Creator to do amazing things. I pray before I open the lid of my Mac, before I click "publish" on a new blog, before I push "send" on a proposal or manuscript or revisions or fourth round of revisions to an editor, before I walk out in front of an audience, before I sync something on social media. I pray that God will use the words He gave me for His glory.
Because none of the words come from me. None of the stories come from me.
Just like Kevin Costner hears a voice in the cornfield telling him to build a baseball field, I believe God calls me to write the craziest things, the things that don't make sense. But when I do? Something insane happens. It's no longer about the stories I tell, it's all about getting closer to Jesus. For a flash, I catch a glimpse His all encompassing love and power. And it is marvelous.
I also believe that God calls each of you to the zaniest most fabulous things. What is He calling you to do today? How weird does it sound? How limitless are the possibilities?
Kevin Costner's character, Ray, built a baseball field, not because he'd always wanted to, not because it made sense, not to turn a profit, or to give his daughter a place to play, but simply in obedience to a voice. And then?
Radio silence.
For months.
And Ray questions and wonders if he made the right decision, if he was out of his mind. But one day Ray walks outside and sees baseball legend, Shoeless Joe, standing on his field. The next day several baseball greats are playing on Ray's field. The movie ends with Ray unexpectedly healing one of his own hurts and a line of cars coming to pay admission to see his field. Ray obeyed the voice even when it seemed counterintuitive to everything he knew. And something awesome happened. That's how God works.
"March around a wall seven times. That's how you'll take this city," God told Joshua and his army as they faced the impenetrable wall of Jericho. And the walls fell down.
"Oh yeah, fight their army of thousands carrying tons of sharp weapons with only pots and trumpets. You're sure to win," God told Gideon and his army of 300. And they won.
The poor will be rich.
The blind will see.
What wackiness is God calling you to?
We'll all hear His voice in different ways. He calls us all to unique, specific work. And sometimes what God says seems out of the question, like something we would never be able or want to do. Ray's wife, Annie, in Field of Dreams asks, "Why didn't the voice send someone else?" And sometimes we ask that same question. Even Moses asked that question. But when God calls you. He calls YOU.
This film came out in 1989. Technology was different. Very. I laughed when Kevin Costner goes to the library and views microfiche, and when his wife answers the telephone with a cord. Plugged into the wall. My husband and I had to explain these things to the children. What if no one had followed God's call to invent Google to replace microfiche or cell phones to replace wall phones? Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple spoke in our college town this past week about all of the things he was curious about, all the problems he wanted to solve, how if something had a glitch he wanted to fix it. What if he hadn't? What if you don't answer God's voice? What will the world miss out on?
What is God calling you to do today? To build? To create? To join? To take on? To write? To learn? To say? To act upon?
What's stopping you? Are you afraid of what someone will think or how they'll react? Are you unsure of the numbers? Of the odds? Of yourself?
I know Field of Dreams is a movie, folks, but I was overwhelmed by how much it mirrors God's call in our lives. Kevin Costner looks cuckoo. He risks his farm, his profit, and his reputation. But he knows it is what he is called to do. And just when everything seems to be falling apart—like he'll lose his land and go bankrupt, everything falls into place.
Because God's plans are perfect plans. Yes, His plans seem out there sometimes. Because, well He's not of this world. Sometimes earthly obstacles feel like roadblocks when we try executing God's plans. But if we're obedient, if we listen when He asks us to do something? Then baseball legends from the past walk out of cornfields, strangers read about my quirky days and somehow feel God's love, battles are won, slaves freed, and the meek inherit the earth.
The thing about promises is that you keep them.
Or we're supposed to. But everyone knows some promises hold more weight than others. There are some promises we don't even pretend will be kept, because we know that either the maker of the promise is unreliable or the nature of the promise is impossible to keep. Think back to junior high elections—the poster that read "Jake for President, if I get elected I promise less homework and more ice cream in the cafeteria." Um, Jake? Seventh Grade Class President doesn't hold that kind of weight.
It's gotten to the point that a promise isn't enough. We have to swear by it, commit to the promise in writing, or the promise of all promises—make a pinky promise. But even those promises—contracts, vows, oaths—sometimes get broken. But God? He never breaks a promise. Never.
I've been working on a writing project this summer, which has put me deep in the books of the Old Testament. I'll be honest, if I'm picking a chunk of the Bible to read, I prefer the letters from Paul. That's not where God put me. I found myself imbedded in the pages of thick detailed books where I prefer to skip the battle scenes and go straight to the stories about lion's dens and fiery furnaces. But it was important for my project that I read every word.
And in that reading, God blew me away. There were passages I thought I knew well, and others I hadn't spent much time on, but page after page God opened my eyes to one particular truth—He is the God who keeps His promises. Every single time.
God said to an older man and woman with mega infertility issues, "Your kids and grandkids will outnumber the stars." Abraham and Sarah were skeptical. They both tried to take matters into their own hands. Sarah even laughed out loud at God's promise. But their son Isaac was born when Abraham was 100 and Sarah was 90!!! God built a nation out of Abraham and Sarah's descendants. Just like He promised.
God said to Gideon, "You'll win this battle with a handful of men against a gigantic army. Oh, by the way, you can't use weapons. Just bring some torches, pots and horns." Gideon was hiding when God found him. He had a rinky-dink army and no battle skills. But God kept his promise. The enemy defeated themselves. Biggest 'own goal' ever.
God said to Joshua, "I'm going to give you this city. All you have to do is walk around it for a week." And the three tiers of walls that stood four stories high around Jericho literally crumbled to the ground. I get lost easily and have circled many a city block. Thankfully, nothing has fallen down. But when God promises something, even if it sounds ludicrous or impossible, it happens. Because God keeps his promises.
I could go on, but the point is if God says something is going to happen, it will. There are some promises God has across the board promised all of us, like that He will always be with us (Matthew 28:20), which would be plenty on its own. But there are more personal promises that He's made to me and to you. God promised the shepherd boy David he would become king of Israel. God promised Noah he would be safe from a giant flood when there wasn't a drop of rain in sight. Those most likely aren't the promises God has spoken to you lately, because those crazy unlikely sounding promises were very specific to David and Noah. God has other specific promises, possibly super out-there promises, for you and me.
Sometimes God's promise is something I could never dream up, but God could and does—as in the project that planted me in the Old Testament this summer. God taught me so much through this storytelling assignment, I am blown away. And I never saw it coming.
What has God promised you? Hang on to the fact that He never breaks His promises. No matter how we mess up, how tired we are, how defeated or unworthy we feel. God's promises don't look like worldly promises. They're way more spectacular. And they always come to fruition in ways richer and fuller than we could orchestrate on our own. Whatever God is promising you today, it will happen. I promise.
Laura L. Smith