August 2012 – Page 4 – 300 words a day

A brief note and an offering of Hope.

“Everyone wins when a leader gets better.” Bill Hybels, 2012 Global Leadership Summit That’s what I heard at the beginning of a leadership conference on Thursday, a conference that I’ve avoided for the decade or so it’s been going on. Nevermind why I’ve avoided it, at least for now. I’ll tell you later when I’m […]

by Jon Swanson

Reflections on praying and doing

Back to Nehemiah. Because I’m reading and rereading, patterns start to show up for me. One pattern is Nehemiah’s mixture of praying and doing. Lots of people who follow God pray and do nothing, waiting for a miracle or a voice from heaven. Others do something and don’t pray, assuming that God may not be […]

by Jon Swanson

Serving the ‘enemy.’

I’m reading Nehemiah these days. I’m preparing a teaching series. I want to give you a couple glimpses. Briefly, Nehemiah was Jewish, was living in exile from Israel along with most of the Jewish population. Some people were left in Israel or had migrated back there. He was working in the king’s palace as a […]

by Jon Swanson

Captivated by fear.

I was talking with a friend about fear I have. It was a good conversation. He helped me think it through. And I’m not going to talk with you about it. He prayed for me, asking that I wouldn’t be “captivated by fear.” I confess, I took out my pen and wrote the phrase on my hand […]

by Jon Swanson

Benched.

In February, while on a short vacation, I saw a leopold bench. I decided I wanted to build one. To put out by the garden, I thought. It would be simple to build, sturdy to use. It’s August. All I have is the photo. I thought of it this weekend while on another short vacation. […]