Serving Others is a Big Rock
Years ago Stephen Covey gave a parable about priorities that is known far and wide. A professor set a wide-mouth quart jar on his desk along with several fist-sized rocks. He carefully put as many of the rocks into the jar as he could. He asked his class “Is the jar full?” They all said […]
Put a Dent in the Universe
So said Steve Jobs. This was his way of saying “Make a difference in the world.” He did. With his development of the Apple collection of communication/computing devices, Jobs put a sizable dent in the universe; in fact, he changed the world. I don’t know how soon he realized that, but there is no doubt […]
When Plan B is Better
I am a happier person when Plan A works. So are you. So are most people. Plan A is what is on our calendar or To-Do list for the day. It’s what we expect to do and usually prefer to do. But it isn’t always possible to do Plan A. The schedule changes or a […]
5 Reasons to Make Serving Others Your New Year’s Resolution
It’s that time again—to resolve to do better in the new year. It is an interesting phenomenon that when the calendar rolls over to a new year a lot of us use that time to try (at least for a few days) to start afresh to improve how we live. We could do that any […]
3 Lessons From A Memorable Christmas
My most memorable Christmas had nothing to do with what I received for Christmas. It had nothing to do with time spent with family though I enjoyed those times as much as anyone. It had to do with serving. Here’s the story. When I was a young teen—about 13 or 14—my church youth group decided […]
Serving is Quiet Power
In my new book Compassionaries: Unleash the Power of Serving which, will come out next March, I make the argument that serving others is powerful. Honestly, that is a concept I had not realized until I began writing, but I became so convinced of it that it became the focus of the book. Most people […]
4 Ways to Show Gratitude Through Serving
I have a friend who has been very good to me—there for me through the most difficult time in my life, generous with her time and support in many ways, and interceding for me often in prayer. I truly cherish our relationship. So, I wanted to show my gratitude for her kindnesses. I went out […]
Spontaneous Serving
A pastor friend told this story this week in his weekly column. On Saturday, I stopped by a fast-food restaurant for a sweet tea. I opted to go in the restaurant instead of the drive-thru. There were a few other people in front of me, including a man who looked pretty ragged. He placed his […]
Serving—An “Equal Opportunity” Opportunity
In this blog I want to debunk a popular myth about serving, namely that it takes a special person to serve, presumably one who is trained to respond to situations in which others are in need. Over the years I have encouraged many thousands of people to serve people in need as a legitimate and […]
Grace Powers Us to Serve
In my last blog I tried to make the argument that it is essential that a person who claims to be a follower of Jesus serves others. I gave 4 reasons that serving is essential for believers: It promotes spiritual growth, puts flesh on good words, helps people, and was a priority for Jesus. In […]
