ODB: Consider The Lilies

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I enjoy nature and giving praise to its Creator, but I sometimes wrongly feel guilty for admiring it too much. Then I remember that Jesus used nature as a teaching tool. To encourage people not to worry, He used simple wildflowers as an example. “Consider the lilies,” He said, and then reminded people that even though flowers do no work at all, God dresses them in splendor. His conclusion? If

ODJ: keep your guard up

A young man and several friends drove to a ski resort, went through a gate that contained warning signs about the dangerous condition of the slopes and started snowboarding. On the second trip down the mountain, someone shouted, “Avalanche!” but the young man couldn’t escape and perished in the cascading snow. Some in the media severely criticised him for being a novice, but he was actual

ODB: The Power Of Love

Books on leadership often appear on best-seller lists. Most of them tell how to become a powerful and effective leader. But Henri Nouwen’s book In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership is written from a different perspective. The former university professor who spent many years serving in a community of developmentally disabled adults says: “The question is not: How m

ODJ: joy in the journey

The announcement of a family road trip is the quickest way to get our eager 6 year old twins packed and in the car. As we drive down our road, around the corner and onto the motorway, however, the standard travel refrain is soon heard from the little voices in the backseat: “Are we there yet?” It’s a question that’s often repeated and, although as parents we might tire of it, the children

ODB: "Lie Down"

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Our golden retriever can get so overly excited that he will go into a seizure. To prevent that from happening, we try to calm him. We stroke him, speak to him in a soothing voice, and tell him to lie down. But when he hears “lie down,” he avoids eye contact with us and starts complaining. Finally, with a dramatic sigh of resignation, he gives in and plops to the floor.Sometimes we too need to

ODJ: gift of your smile

The late film director Krzysztof Kieslowski was once interviewing actors for a film. During an interview, a young actress described to him how she’d go out and walk the streets of Paris when she felt sad.

As Kieslowski probed further he learned that 6 years earlier the actress had been close to a breakdown. One day she went out onto the street where she caught sight of the famous Fr

ODB: Empty Fort Strategy

In the Chinese historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, author Luo Guanzhong describes the “Empty Fort Strategy,” a use of reverse psychology to deceive the enemy. When 150,000 troops from the Wei Kingdom reached Xicheng, which had less than 2,500 soldiers, they found the city gate wide open and the famous military tactician Zhuge Liang calmly playing the zither with two childr

ODJ: one simple word

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I subscribe to a magazine that promotes simplicity. The editors adore articles on no-fuss solutions for household problems, relationship snags and fashion conundrums. For example, one issue featured 799 new uses for items you already own, while another presented tasty meals made from just three ingredients.

In some cases, understanding God’s will for our lives comes down to one

ODB: Limitless Love

Recently, a friend sent me the history of a hymn that I often heard in church when I was a boy:Could we with ink the ocean fill, And were the skies of parchment made, Were every stalk on earth a quill, And every man a scribe by trade; To write the love of God above Would drain the ocean dry; Nor could the scroll contain the whole Though stretched fr