I am sitting in the Seattle airport, waiting for my flight to Dallas and then to home in Chattanooga. It has been a quick trip. I arrived here yesterday. It has been a sad trip. I came for a Memorial Service of a pastor whose wife and four children will now be living their lives without him. It has been a difficult trip. I am struggling over the fact that he took his life. But it has also been a grounding trip. I’ve experienced the Good News of life in and with Christ in a more profound way. At

A couple of months ago my friend Owen generously gave me a new personal planner (thanks Owen!).  It’s not just any personal planner, it’s an EVO planner (I’m an Explorer – find your brain type here).  My new planner has many wonderful features, but one of my favorite features is that each day the “flow” begins with gratitude.  EVO’s amazing research on productivity and brain types concluded that all humans (no matter brain type) are happier and more productive when they practice the daily discipline of expressing gratitude...not a surprise for most of you, I’m sure. Having the daily prompt (at least

Thanksgiving has always been a very special week of blessing for me. For as long as I can remember, it was a time of gatherings for our immediate family, i.e. my parents, 3 brothers and me and our extended family which included our grandparents and friends. After Jim and I married, our celebrations of the season expanded to his family as well. Delicious food, fun games, and engaging conversation with rippling sounds of laughter (and sometimes tears) were all ways of celebrating that we  were all together again!  We all looked forward to it with great anticipation....and we still

I once heard Rich say to me about a difficult relationship, “What can you show gratitude for?”  ‘I don’t have any gratitude for them’ I responded!  Rich didn’t like that answer. Not every relationship or situation in our lives leaves us being grateful.  Nevertheless, the Apostle Paul encourages us to be thankful in all things.  How in the world is that possible?  Simply put, I may not be thankful for some people or circumstances, but I can be thankful that God is present in me, with me and for me! Gratitude becomes a passageway for the very heart of

At Crosspoint, we highly value the pratice of gratitude!  We hope you will enjoy the thoughts and stories that are on our hearts about gratitude, as we share them over the next week. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ One of my favorite Thanksgiving memories as a young adult is gathering for dinner at my in-law’s house.  One of the traditions we could always count on was Glenda’s dad, Joe, planning a good reminder for everyone to be grateful. Joe had one “go-to” tradition that he seemed to use more than any other.  He would gather these little saucers that were just perfect for

The holiday season invites us to transcendence.  The definition of transcendent is “beyond or above the range of normal or merely physical human experience; surpassing the ordinary; exceptional”. I think most of us desire to experience something deep down inside when we gather around the Thanksgiving table.  Some spark of gratitude that reminds us we are made for something more than the rat race we can often find ourselves in.  Some affirmation from another human that we are loved or noticed.  I mean, who doesn’t want to sit in front of the beautifully decorated Christmas tree in cozy pajamas

With the upcoming seasons of Thanksgiving, Advent, and Christmas, preparing for these holidays can be exciting, stressful, sad, or happy occasions. Many times, it’s not “either/or” for any of these expressions of emotions. It can be  “both/and” or all of them at different points of the preparations.             No matter what I may be feeling, I find that it is important for me to prepare my own heart with gratitude while getting ready for these days of celebration. The  rhythm of preparation is just as important as the the actual day of celebration.  Being grateful for the blessings of

We all have different Thanksgiving memories.  For me, it means lots of food.  We would have the Macy’s day parade on the T.V., while preparing the huge meal to come later in the day.  There are certain holiday foods that are my family traditions, one of them being lots of olives!  You might say, “Ew!  Olives!  But for us, it was fun to sneak them from the table while preparations were being made.   We still laugh over how many olives we could manage to eat. Speaking of the table, we had a big family with relatives, but we always

First of all, let me say that I am thrilled that I get to share my thoughts on leadership.  This has been my passion for many years, as I led teams at UPS in the United States and abroad.  I’ve read many books and papers and attended many training events and seminars, all on the topic of leadership.  One thing that I believe many have neglected over the years is how difficult leadership can be.  It’s not that hard to be designated as the leader – sometimes common grace can put us in a position of leadership.  But actually

"The best and most beautiful things in this world cannot be seen or even heard but must be felt with the heart." –Helen Keller I’ve always been curious about Helen Keller and how she became such a well-known personality.  How could she know the best and most beautiful things in this world?  What does this mean for us as Christian leaders?  Helen Keller couldn’t see or hear, yet she learned many truths, felt deeply in her heart, and eventually wrote her story to become an influential example in the world. We can speak beautiful Christian language, spout out deep