Friday, November 20, 2009

Do you know any unsung heroes? I'm thinking about people who quietly put Jesus' words into actions without looking for any praise or glory. They don't need someone to tell them they're doing the right thing, they just do it.I have a friend who takes the words of James' letter seriously. He's supporting some widows and putting a couple of kids through school ...
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Friday, November 13, 2009

When I first moved out to California and found a church home, one family adopted me as one of their daughters. I don't think I'm in the will yet, but I am invited to all major holidays, especially Thanksgiving. Their entire family gets together for a day of football, movies, golf and food.I'll never forget the movies we watched the first Thanksgiving I was with them ...
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Saturday, November 7, 2009

When was the last time you said a genuine thanks from the heart? Not just a casual "thank you," but a well-considered statement of gratitude? This time of year I'm reminded to be more thoughtful and conscious of living gratefully. One year my sister gave me a joy journal, and each day it instructs me to write down what brought me joy. That's something to be thankful for ...
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Friday, October 30, 2009

It's a beautiful day today. The sky is mostly clear, the sun is shining, and it's a brisk 55 degrees. The best part of today is that we left the office and drove up to the mountains for a friend's baptism…in the river!We climbed down the riverbank, over some rocks, and perched right next to the water ...
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Friday, October 23, 2009

There's an old story about blind men who each touch a different part of an elephant. When asked what they are touching, they each have a different answer. One touched the trunk, one a leg, one the ear, and one the tail ...
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Friday, October 16, 2009

When you watch a film do you wonder where the idea came from and how long it took the writer to create the plot?Last week I was driving to a friend's home minding my own business when I noticed the car in front of me had a foot sticking out of the trunk. A bare human foot, probably size 8 or 10.Immediately my imagination went into overdrive. Why was a foot sticking out of the trunk? It's October; maybe someone is playing a Halloween prank? On the other hand, maybe the driver killed someone and was hiding the body ...
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Friday, October 9, 2009

I help a friend lead a Bible study for a group of girls from my church, and I'm always looking for tools that will help communicate with them. Even though we all speak English, sometimes it seems like we're speaking a different language. I remember the issues I faced as a teen, and somehow they seem pretty tame compared to what today's students face.This week I hosted a film screening in Fresno for a movie that's coming out in January ...
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Friday, September 25, 2009

What do you do when you're curious about something? Are you a researcher that jumps on the Internet and looks for information? Or do you give it a moment's thought and then move on? How do you decide if it's something you really want to explore?Two independent films that are the results of someone's curiosity are coming out in the next two weeks. The first, Lord Save Us From Your Followers, is a documentary exploring the collision of faith and culture in America. Filmmaker Dan Merchant crossed the country conducting interviews with people on both sides of the faith debate because he wanted to know why the Gospel, which is a message of love, is so divisive ...
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Friday, September 18, 2009

Have you ever seen someone you recognized but just couldn't place? You know that you know them, but you can't remember how? That happened to me last night.I attended a meeting of the Biola Studio Task Force, a Christian film industry networking group. When I first walked in, a woman nearby caught my attention. I recognized her, but couldn't place who she was or how I knew her ...
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Friday, September 11, 2009

Monday I had dinner sitting on the back porch. I was reading, thinking about God's grace, and watching the sun go down. That's pretty unusual for me ...
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