I asked my friend Randy Smith for permission to share his personal resolutions.  I believe they’ll be a blessing to you. I like each of them, including “Listen to the Martins.”   Birds are one of God’s gifts to us reminding us of his creation and care. Randy is working in the Middle East right now.  Pray for him and send …

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”    -Martin Luther King, Jr.

Faith that the thing can be done is essential to any great achievement.  -Thomas Carruther Thoughts on revising a 90,000 word novel: “If it was easy, everybody would be doing it.” Morale is the single greatest factor in successful wars. -Dwight D. Eisenhower

Down in the Well “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding…”   Proverbs 3:4 My neighbor Dudley Mercer tells a story from his Dry Creek childhood.  His family farm had a 35-foot deep well on which they relied for all of their water needs. Dudley’s family also had a problem: one of their …

“Let another praise you…” The Parable of the Big Mouth Frog. Share this simple proverb with your children. Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; A stranger, and not your own lips. …. Proverbs 27:2 There is a memorable proverb about a big-mouthed frog that lived in Canada.  Each year he enviously watched the geese wing their way …

People aren’t just looking for a friendly church, as important as that may be, they’re also looking for friends at church! -Stephen Davis

“Simplicity, carried to the extreme, is elegance.”   -Jon Franklin. Lord, teach me to be a simple man. Amen Today, August 1, is always a special/bittersweet day. My father, Clayton Iles, would be 76 today.  I listened to a song on my iPod last night and thought, “Daddy, would have liked that version. I wish I could play it for him.”  …