When all the pieces come together, not only does your work move toward greatness, but so does your life. For, in the end, it is impossible to have a great life unless it is a meaningful life. And it is very difficult to have a meaningful life without meaningful work. Perhaps, then, you might gain that rare tranquility that come from knowing that you’ve have a hand in creating something of intrinsic excellence that makes a contribution. Indeed, you might even gain the deepest of all satisfactions: knowing that your short time here on earth has been well spent, and that it mattered.
— Jim Collins, from Good to Great
I have seen and spoken to men and women making a difference in God’s church. The impact of their work is eternal and inestimable…The breakout churches have hundreds of stories of lives moving to greatness, about people who are now making a difference. And many members told us that it is the first time they felt that their lives had meaning.
— Thom Rainer from Breakout Churches.
The body of Christ was alive, no longer trapped in stained-glass windows or books or systematic theology. The body of Christ was literal, living, hungry, thirsty, bleeding. Church was no longer something we did for an hour on Sunday, and church was not a building with a steeple…She came to life. The church became something we are—an organism, not an organization. Christ became so fresh and vibrant, it was like we had brought something dead back to life.
— Shane Claiborne commenting on when he and other college students had joined and served the homeless in an abandoned cathedral in North Philadelphia - from The Irresistible Revolution
A shot from our winter/spring family getaway to a borrowed cabin in Ripon. We spent 4 days playing games, talking, reading, walking, antiquing, and chilling out. No TV. No Internet. Pure refreshment!
It is a known fact that I love to read. I usually read a number of books at the same time, not unlike working your way around a good meal. I love quality non-fiction most of all. I love to read on a wide range of topics. one of my favorite things to do is recommend good books. Go ahead and ask!
