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Category: Just Thinking

The Cure for Smart Phone Addiction

Last Sunday, our pastor continued a series called Satisfied. He shared some amazing statistics about Americans and their cell phones: 66% of Americans feel anxious if they are separated from their device. 58% do not miss one waking hour without checking their smart phone. 59% of Americans check email as soon as comes in. 89% of Americans check their device every single day, even on vacation. 80% of teenagers sleep with their phone! 84% of Americans believe they couldn’t go a day without their phone. The average cell phone user checks their phone 150 times a day! In fact, many people check their cell phone first thing in the morning and as the last thing they do before going to sleep. They go to bed and wake up checking their smart phone. While some people are worse than others, all of us, I believe, probably check their phone more than necessary. There is no doubt that we live in a world where our smart phone is now practically a part of our body. How many times have you been in a room filled with friends or family and everyone is on their device rather than enjoying each other? Well, I…

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If Angels Could Sing…

Before you watch this incredible new video from Pentatonix, I’d like you to consider something. A professor of mine in Bible college suggested an interesting theory he had about angels based on a textual study of the Bible’s original languages. An interesting fact, that while we often talk about “angelic choirs” or say someone “sings like an angel,” nowhere in Scripture are angels ever recorded as singing. But often, the saints are and we are commanded to! Keep in mind, this is a theory based on an argument from silence. So while we can’t say the Bible says “angels can’t sing,” – there is no evidence that they can in the original languages of the Bible. As Dr. James used to say, I will also say, “I sure hope they do! I bet they are amazing.” The point is simply that perhaps singing was a gift given uniquely to humans as a means of worship? Note, in Job 38:7, states that on the first day of creation, the angels “shouted for joy.” Consider that the classic Christmas play scene of children dressed as singing angels (as adorable as it is) doesn’t match the biblical text where the angels were “praising…

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Powerless Fan

As I said on Facebook: Yes, I’m sad. The Broncos lost their first game after a 17 regular season game winning streak. However, just as I am not responsible in any way for their loss, it reminded me that can take no credit when they win either. I am merely an observer. That’s all a fan can do. But then, why the emotion? It’s so stinkin’ fun to be the home town of a winning team! My heart goes out to… (oh, I won’t pick on any of my friends who feel like this every week, it’s not their fault either.) But I must say, if we HAD to lose, what better place to lose? It was moving to see the “enemy” stadium express such love and respect for OUR quarterback. And yet, “Luck” was on their side, and as much as they love the guy Denver has grown to admire, they wanted to see their new guy triumph over the old champion – and I gotta admit, as painful as it was to watch, I am happy for them. So we dry our tears here in Denver and look forward to seeing Peyton continue to amaze us as the…

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It’s Your Choice, Everyday!

My dad used to say there is a reason “if” is in the middle of “LIFE,” because “life is what happens while you are making other plans.” Life is full of disappointments, set-backs, detours, and surprises. Happiness is not determined by how well life sticks straight to our plans and dreams, but by our attitude along the way as it twists and turns. As the old saying goes, we can look at the cup that is at 50% and say: It’s HALF FULL! It’s HALF EMPTY! Or just be stuck wondering… What will your choice be today? You may not be able to change your circumstances… but you can always change YOU! I’d love to hear in the comments what you have done to turn things around when you have felt stuck, discouraged or off track. Encourage others!

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Editing Pet Peeves

In my work, I get to edit a lot of stuff. I’m also blessed to have a great editor who edits my own work, since we are often blind to our own mistakes. I’m no master of the English language. My grandmother was the family English grammarian! But I do have two pet peeves that drive me nuts, and if you write for me (you know who you are) I’ve probably nagged you about these two. Double spaces after punctuation. Punctuation after quotation marks. The first is a left-over from type writers which I think have been gone for quite awhile. Type writers had small spaces and folks back then needed to hit the space bar twice to make a single space that looked the same width as the characters. You can read all about the history here if you like: Space Invaders. The second is simply good grammar. It was taught in grade school. Learn it. Why am I bringing this up now? As I was driving across this Great Land of America I stopped at a rest area and was surprised to see that a government sponsored ‘monument’ broke both my pet peeves. I wondered what processes were…

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