ODB: Test Match

A test match in the game of cricket can be grueling. Competitors play from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. with lunch and tea breaks, but the games can last up to five days. It’s a test of endurance as well as skill.The tests we face in life are sometimes intensified for a similar reason—they feel unending. The long search for a job, an unbroken season of loneliness, or a lengthy battle with ca

ODJ: True Fellowship

The word fellowship conjures up some rather strange associations in my mind. When I hear it spoken, I immediately think of coffee and doughnuts, along with the basement meeting spaces in churches where those coffee and doughnuts are served. Most strangely, I also think about the 2001 film The Fellowship of the Ring. So somehow my concept of Christian community has become inextric

ODB: The Wrong Horseshoe

Napoleon’s defeat in Russia 200 years ago was attributed to the harsh Russian winter. One specific problem was that his horses were wearing summer horseshoes. When winter came, these horses died because they slipped on icy roads as they pulled the supply wagons. The failure of Napoleon’s supply chain reduced his 400,000-strong army to just 10,000. A small slip; a disastrous result!Jame

ODJ: After 35

What’s the best age in life? According to one survey, it’s 35. This is because by 35 years old, many people have reached milestones like buying a house, finding a spouse and having a first child while still having several years to go before reaching the peak of their career. So, at 35, it’s expected that individuals will have achieved stability in life with hopes of more success

ODB: Free from Fear

Fear sneaks into my heart without permission. It paints a picture of helplessness and hopelessness. It steals my peace and my concentration. What am I fearful about? I’m concerned about the safety of my family or the health of loved ones. I panic at the loss of a job or a broken relationship. Fear turns my focus inward and reveals a heart that sometimes finds it hard to trust.When these fear

ODJ: The Failure Wall

What if you were asked to write your failures on a wall for everyone to see? What if the person doing the asking was your boss? That’s exactly what happens every day at Dun and Bradstreet Credibility Corp. Jeff Stibel, chief executive officer, came up with the Failure Wall. Stibel encourages his employees to write their failures on the 10 by 15 foot surface in order to succeed in their work

ODB: Human Race

The alarm clock goes off. Too early, it seems. But you have a long day ahead. You have work to do, appointments to keep, people to care for, or all this and more. Well, you are not alone. Each day, many of us rush from one matter to another. As someone has wittily suggested, “That’s why we are called the human race.”When the apostles returned from their first mission trip, they h

ODJ: 5W1H-Worship 101

5W1H. What’s that? Students of journalism are familiar with the “Five Ws and One H” method of fact gathering. This approach is also known as the Kipling Method, because of the poem Rudyard Kipling wrote that opens with these words: I keep six honest serving-men; They taught me all I knew; Their names are What and Why and When And How and Where and Who. At the cl

ODB: Tactical Distractions

It became painfully clear the first time my wife and I collaborated on a writing project that procrastination was going to be a major obstacle. Her role was to edit my work and keep me on schedule; my role seemed to be to drive her crazy. Most times, her organization and patience outlasted my resistance to deadlines and direction.   I promised to have a certain amount of writing don