Results

Butterfly A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could, and it could…

Poem by Annie Johnson Flint

Philipp Melancthon mourned in his day the divisions among Protestants, and sought to bring the Protestants together by a parable of the war between the wolves and the dogs: The wolves were somewhat afraid, for the dogs were many and strong, and therefore they sent out a spy to observe them. On his return,…

When they frightened this nation years ago with the rumor of an invasion by the French, the Russians, or somebody or other, what was the result? Everybody became warlike. Our young men joined rifle clubs and our elderly men furbished up their old blunderbusses. Everybody hastened to arm himself to protect…

When a man has been drowning, I have heard that his sensations have often been very pleasant. But when the circulation of the blood commences again, pain begins at once. And the more pain he suffers, the more surely is he being restored to life. It is just so with the spiritual blood that is circulating…

Going down to Sheerness on Friday, I was told by someone that during the recent gale several of the ships there had their anchors rent up. They had gone dashing against the other ships and had done considerable damage. Now, if their anchors had held fast and firm, no damage would have been done. Ask…

In The Culture Map: Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business, Erin Meyer writes, “There’s a wise Bahamian proverb: ‘To engage in conflict, one does not need to bring a knife that cuts, but a needle that sews.’” —Jim L. Wilson The Culture Map, 218 Colossians 3:13 (CSB) bearing with…

Major league baseball has been trying to eliminate some of the arguments from the game. One recent innovation that has reduced many contentious moments is the instant replay. A team of umpires located in a New York studio with video feeds to every big league ball park view close, contested plays review…

Two California drivers were willing to spend part of their evening vying for a parking spot and their struggle was captured and narrated by a neighbor who watched the events unfold. Mariah Flores saw the parking battle and dubbed the participants, the black car and the silver car. The battle began as…

Mary Ziegler and Bill Henrichs were high school sweethearts who later married. Things didn’t work out however, and 23-years ago they were divorced. They kept in touch and remained friends. Then last year, Bill discovered that his kidneys were failing. All his family and some 40 family friends were tested…

The quick eye of a Goodwill worker in southern New Jersey turned up a valuable piece of U.S. history. The worker saw that a donated frame contained pages of an original newspaper from 1774 with the iconic “Unite or Die” design in the masthead. The pages from the “Pennsylvania Journal and the Weekly Advertiser”…

Caroline Hacker used social media to urge people not to park at the airport when she returned from her family vacation. Why? There were so many ants in the car that her eleven month-old daughter had ants crawling on her during the trip home. Airport officials offered to pay the cost of cleaning, and…

When writing a screen play for a movie, the author needs to be aware of the importance of conflict. Without conflict there is no plot. The only way to make a story interesting is to have conflict between characters, internal conflict, or conflict with nature. In the arts, as in life, conflict happens.…

During the heated rhetoric, protests, and counter demonstrations on their University Campus, the University of California at Berkeley set up a tent for the two sides to communicate and find common ground. During one session, passions began to run high until a fistfight broke out and almost knocked over…

A month and a half after Election Day in 2016, Joe Chandler, from Georgia, is refusing to find out who won the presidential election. He says that on the day after the vote he woke up feeling happy and relaxed and decided not to ruin the mood by seeing the election result. So, for 6 weeks he has avoided…

In Hold Me Tight: Seven Conversations for a Lifetime of Love, Sue Johnson writes, “To reconnect, lovers have to be able to de-escalate the conflict and actively create a basic emotional safety.” —Jim L. Wilson Hold Me Tight, 122 Ephesians 4:26 (HCSB) Be angry and do not sin. Don’t let the sun go down…

Police in New Jersey say a man has been charged with leaving the scene of an accident and reckless driving backing his car into a utility pole. David Scarpa turned himself in to authorities the following day and told them he had left the scene of the accident because he did not want to deal with his…

32-year-old Walid Chaabani had enough, so left home to get away from his wife, even though he knew that doing so would result in going to prison for breaking the terms of house arrest. According to police, "Living with his wife was particularly difficult and unbearable." He told authorities that he was…

On an Air India flight the captain and his co-pilot had a difference of opinion. It grew into an argument that escalated to trading blows in the cockpit. The pilots agreed to stop fighting and complete the flight from Jaipur to Delhi to avoid inconveniencing passengers. It is wise for us to realize that…

The entire Thanksgiving weekend used to be a time for families to be together. Then came Black Friday—a day to get good deals for clothing and electronics. Today, many are staying home again, due to the increase of violence. In the Chicago area, in 2013, a police officer shoots a thief at a Kohl’s Department…

In his book, Leadership and Conflict, Speed B. Leas writes, “Invite the other (even a person who is attacking you) to join you in a common search to identify what the problems are, stay with the other in order to work through the differences, look for alternatives that you both can agree have merit and…

Christian marriage is from God. God joins two people together, for life. Jesus is specific; humans are not to separate what God had joined. That makes the statement of Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin a sad one. In announcing their divorce they stated, “It is with hearts full of sadness that we have…

Greg Snider pulled into a parking lot in Houston to make a business call. While he was there, a homeless man approached the car and asked for change, so Snider gave him 75 cents and drove off. When Snider pulled onto a nearby freeway, police stopped him and surprised him by how aggressive the officers…

In his book, The Insanity of God, Nik Ripken tells the story of a Southern Gentleman, “Bubba”, who responded with kindness in a difficult situation. The setting is war-torn Somolia, where Ripken served as a missionary, bringing relief to those caught in the war-famine-refugee-poverty cycle. It was a…