New: not existing before; made, introduced or discovered recently, or, now, for the first time; just beginning and regarded as better than what went before. For the next few weeks, we’ll all be shaking the holiday dust off our tongues. Standard greeting, at least until the Pro Bowl: “Happy New Year!” Everybody wants new; it’s […]

In the next couple of days, investment decisions will be made with eternal implications. For 51 weeks every year, most affluent Christians stay under-the-radar with their Kingdom donations. For many, their weekly/monthly giving mirrors the disciples who sit down-the-row on Sundays. But, in the last days of the year, things change for them, often significantly.

The background music for the human race was written in a minor key. People woke every morning to a tone of tension, knowing something was wrong but not having a solution. The deep longings of the soul had no resolution; darkness prevailed; the need for light was universal… John wrote his version of the Christmas

Can you hear it? Like you, I’m immersed in Christmas. My station – “The Message,” on SiriusXM – has been playing only Christmas music since Thanksgiving. For the last month, I’ve heard Bing Crosby’s voice more than I’ve heard Cheri’s. Right now, I have my Christmas ’25 most-repeated tune playing. In fact, I’ve likely played

Not much left of 2025, is there? We’re both pressed – you and I – to make some pretty big things happen between now and the time the crowd cheers the end of ’25 and the start of ’26. How can we finish this big year in a way that makes it a truly Big

I think I’m going to consider the unthinkable: I might be changing my email address(es). The reason? Giving Tuesday. What happened? In football, the rule violation is called “piling on;” it penalizes the offending team 15 yards of high-value territory. Here’s what they’re looking for: “…jumping on a ball carrier who has already been downed,

Are you feeling it? You’re not on the clock right now: you’re on the calendar. You’ve been off for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, and (mostly) focused on your life apart from your work. The press of minutes and hours is waiting for you as you re-start, but you’re still caught in the maze of days.

I mean, come on: there’s nothing you do more regularly than eat. You may engage twice a day; you may engorge three times a day. On high-discipline, lose-a-few occasions you may dial that back to one meal a day to lose a pound or two. Every year, you’ll have hundreds of meals – some alone,

I’m thankful for a lot of things; some are obvious – like Cheri’s willingness to go for 54+ years of marriage with a knucklehead, and my God-given victory over leukemia, and an amazing downline of kids/grands who are honoring God with their lives – but others are less so. Here’s one: I was never notable

When was the last time you got a Standing O? It was great to be in church yesterday. Our pastor took the time – early in the service – to ask the folks in the auditorium who had served in any branch of the military – Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard – to