Archive for the ‘community’ Category

@maurilio:

18

An Intentional Love

The old man was out of control and out of order. His wife was taken to the operating room 30 minutes before she was scheduled and we were not there in time to pray with her before the surgery. Now his angry words echoed through the hospital waiting room for all to hear: “you’re the worst preacher ever. How much do we pay you anyway? Whatever it is, it’s too much.” As I was about to defend my boss and put the old man in his place, Ron reached over and waved me back. He knew that the man was in pain and that his outburst was not about us, but about his fears. A few minutes later the elderly gentleman broke down and began to cry. Ron consoled him as he asked for forgiveness almost immediately. I was 21 years old and I was in my first year of…

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3

I Need Community and So Do You

I was planning on running 9 miles yesterday morning. I ended up running 12. What happened? I was encouraged  (or shamed) into going further than I anticipated. But at the end of the run, I was better off for it. I had a strong sense of accomplishment and both my heart and waist benefited from the extra mileage. However, if it weren’t for the power of community, I would probably done less than the 9 I had originally intended to do. Some people like to run, exercise, eat and often do life alone. I’m not one of them. I’m convinced that even these lone wolves could benefit from being part of an encouraging community. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten out of bed at 4:30 am on a cold winter morning because I knew my running partners would be waiting for me at the park entrance. I…

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13

All You Need Is a Little Inspiration

When we find ourselves in a difficult place in life seems like one of two things happen: we either give up and accept the situation making the most out of it with the fatalistic “it is what it is” attitude, or we decide to fight, crawl, push, and shove our way out, however difficult that might be. Yesterday I saw this video for the first time, and I cried like a baby watching it. I have seen it several times since, and every time it still moves me. Ben’s story resonates with my own. Do yourself a favor and take a few minutes to watch it: While I was never as big as Ben, I was on the same path and one day decided to do something about my health and so I went for a run. Since then I have done several races, a marathon and a triathlon. If…

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57

Narcissism, Social Media, Christianity and Me

I knew I was in trouble even before I began reading a very thought-provoking post on social media by Mitch Joel, Confessions of a Narcissist brought to my attention by Mike Hyatt.  The title alone was convicting. In his post, Joel unplugs from the Matrix long enough to see what we have often feared would happen: a feeding frenzy of the cult of ME. Social media has empowered narcissism to a new level and given it legs to run amuck. He poignantly writes: The true destination for most of our online endeavors really are the new media equivalent of the biblical statues that were presented as deities. These digital shrines that we create to ourselves. The post hit  a nerve with me. Intellectually I know that social or any type of media is inherently neutral. Unlike some who believe Facebook, and Twitter and whatever new social network a 19 year-old…

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