Posts with the tag “ken-alvis”

How do you look at your life? Do you ever ponder the impact of your past, reflect on what is occurring currently, or think of what is still in front of you? One perspective is that life is a series of phases that occur throughout your life. One simple way to look at each phase of your life is by asking a pointed question.   Read More

Just about all of us fear something. It could be heights, spiders, snakes, getting a shot, being alone, germs, public speaking, or just general anxiety about everything. We all have fears.The most famous scene of all time about fear is in A Charlie Brown Christmas, where Charlie Brown is depressed about Christmas. He goes to Lucy and pays his nickel to get help. For five cents (and the wonderful s...  Read More

Who among us believes their prayer life is an A+, with no room for improvement? Clearly, we all strive to have close union with our Lord through prayer, but there are times when prayer feels stiff and distant. Fortunately, the Bible has 650 prayers that are wonderful examples that can be utilized to help us communicate with the Lord.One of those 650 prayers occurs in the book of Daniel, in chapter...  Read More

When a crisis suddenly appears at your doorstep, how do you respond? Do you:a)Ignore it.b)Panic.c)Make a quick and often rash response.d)Pray about it and wait on God.All too often our response is anything except pray first and wait on God. We can learn about seeking God during a crisis from the prophet Daniel. In the book of Daniel, Daniel and his young buddies have been taken captive from their ...  Read More

Do you realize the amazing fortune that we have in Jesus Christ? Ephesians 3:8 refers to the “unsearchable riches of Christ” or the “endless treasures.” This literally means it cannot be measured, counted, or comprehended. In other words, there is no limit to the riches of Christ. We can try, but we can never comprehend all that Christ gives to us. The apostle Paul tells us some of these riches in...  Read More

Here is the scenario: You are on a ship, and it is sinking. What would you do? How would you handle your final moments? As you ponder this, here is the story of how one man handled his last moments before his ship sank. Daniel Draper was an English evangelical missionary to south Australia in the mid-1800s. He started thirty churches during his time there.After 29 years in Australia, Draper and hi...  Read More

We humans have amazing bodies. In fact, here are some amazing facts about our amazing bodies:The entire surface of your skin is replaced every month.The skin is the largest organ of your body, weighs eight pounds, and covers 22 square feet.Your body has over 100,00 miles of blood vessels.75% of the time we breath it is through one nostril only. So, are you a “left nostril” or “right nostril” breat...  Read More

I don’t know about you, but I would have a hard time if someone came up to me and said, “You make me sick to my stomach” or this gem: “I’ve watched you for a while and what I see from you makes me want to puke.” Pretty harsh, isn’t it? Yet, this is what Jesus Christ said to the church in Laodicea in chapter three of the book of Revelation.Christ says that the works of the Christians there were don...  Read More

Well, it is now 2022.  Typically, every new year is a time for resolutions, which are almost always well-meaning but usually short-lived.  Instead of talking about new year’s resolutions, my encouragement is that all of us focus on how we are wonderfully made by God. He has made each of us in His image. Psalm 139:13-16 says:13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body    and knit me togeth...  Read More

How many of you are excited and passionate about your work?  When I use the term work, I am referring to all of your work – your job, housework, yardwork, schoolwork, cleaning the dishes, preparing meals, parenting, etc.  In all these areas, there is work involved.Unfortunately, in the culture we live in today, work is often viewed as drudgery, boring, dreaded and something to be avoided.  In fact...  Read More

Have you looked around recently?  It appears to me everything is upside down and the world as I knew for so many years is no more.  Conversations with others often revolve around the disarray of the world, and I use phrases like “I can’t believe this” or “Are you kidding me?” The world gets us down, doesn’t it? It is full of distractions, temptations, and promises of happiness that never fully del...  Read More

Jesus’ feeding of the five thousand is the only miracle recorded in all four Gospels.  It is a story that is familiar to most Christians, as Jesus took five loaves and two fish and fed more than five thousand people.  Each Gospel writer tells the story from a different angle (Mark 6, Luke 9, John 6) to emphasize different points.  In the account in Matthew 14, He emphasizes its impact on the disci...  Read More

Who doesn’t have a can of WD-40 at your house?  I know I do.  There is a great quote about this product that says, “You only need two things in life:  Duct tape and WD-40.  If it moves and shouldn’t, use duct tape.  If it doesn’t move and should, use WD-40.”  The history of the product WD-40 is worth retelling.  The company that makes it was originally called the Rocket Chemical Company because th...  Read More

Collecting baseball cards has been an active hobby of mine for 58 years, since five years of age.  I collect vintage cards from the 1950’s, 1960’s, and 1970’s.  In the baseball card collector world, I am known as a “vintage set collector.”  This means the goal is to collect one of every card issued from a particular year by a specific company.  Baseball card collectors have a jargon to describe th...  Read More