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Lessons from the Gardener

Though I’m two generations removed from the family farm (my grandpa Barnhart grew up on one), I spent a decent part of my youth working out in our garden each spring. Our family gardener taught me many valuable skills for getting the most out of the soil. First,...

Twelve Questions to Probe Your Pride

“God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” James 4:6 When it comes to sins, pride is the granddaddy of them all. C. S. Lewis observed that “A proud person is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you’re looking down, you...

Addiction and Redemption

“The chains of habit are too weak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken.” Samuel Johnson What is addiction? One definition is the “complex, progressive, injurious, and, often, disabling attachment to a substance or behavior in which a person compulsively...

Dereliction of Duty

“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” – Attributed to Edmund Burke In the final episode of the 90’s sitcom Seinfeld, Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer witnessed a man getting carjacked at gunpoint. Instead of helping him, Kramer...

Games People Play

“All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players.” – William Shakespeare It’s a truism that people behave differently in public than in private. As social creatures, we become far more calculating in front of an audience than in the absence of...

Incurvatus In Se

In ancient Greek mythology, Narcissus was a character who was terribly proud and utterly disdainful of all others. One day he saw his own reflection in a pool and fell in love with it, not realizing it was his own image. Unable to leave his reflection, he died there...

The Faces of Sin

The concept of sin has fallen out of favor as a serious word in much of today’s world. Witness how sin is used as a marketing ploy: “Sinful Designer Clothing,” “Shop Sinful Apparel,” “Sinful Inflictions—Custom Tatoos.” Sin makes the occasional appearance on dessert...

Resistance Training

“Whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.” James 1:2-4 Years ago,...

Better Together

“Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.” Helen Keller    Have you ever wondered why Jesus gathered his followers into a learning, serving, worshiping community? Didn’t Jesus know how difficult people are to get along with and how unappealing church...

On Becoming Receivable

“Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me.” –Jesus, Matthew 10:40 You may have heard about a big game today between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals. As an LA guy, I’m pulling for our local team to win Super...