11 Ways To Create More Time To Think

Paul B. Brown, Forbes, Feb. 9, 2014

It could be just a coincidence, but I don’t think so.

In the course of the last 10 days or so, I’ve had three in-depth conversations with businesspeople that I truly respect. The theme: Carving out more time to think.

All three people–two men and a woman–had been searching for ways to do it.

The three don’t know one another, but why they had this quest in common is easy to understand.

You need new ideas if you are going to stay ahead of the competition. And it is awfully hard to come up with those ideas if you don’t have any time to think.

And so those three people were looking for ways to create “white space” in their lives that they could fill with new ideas.

Let me share with you the things they are trying.

1. Breakfast could be the most important meal of the day. One of the men has taken to getting up earlier and is in his local coffee shop by 5 a.m. He says he always buys a newspaper, “so I won’t look even more weird than I am,” but he spends virtually all of his time just staring into space. “The key, I find, is not to distract myself with things like checking email or voice mail, or making to do lists. I just sit and think.”

2. First things first. Intriguingly, the other two people I talked to also tried to carve out thinking time early in the day. But they did it before breakfast. Typically, they said, the first they used to do was check email and skim the headlines. Now, they are putting that off, until they have spent some time thinking about their most important objectives.

3. Simplifying. Stress and needless distractions (“where the heck did I put that file”) detract from your ability to think. Each of the people I talked to said they were taking steps to become even more organized. One of the ideas I particularly liked: Creating an agenda for the following day–with all the necessary supporting materials at hand–before they turned off their computer at night.

4. Reinstating the lunch break. Unless you are meeting with a client, there is a natural tendency to work through lunch; you have a quick sandwich or salad at your desk while tackling yet another thing you have to do. One of the ideas that surfaced was walking away from your desk and finding some place where you could find 30 minutes to get away from everything.

5. Relaxing before taking a break. “I really am one of those guys who gets his best ideas in the shower,” one of the men told me. “But I noticed that the ideas only occur if I am not stressed. If I am worried about something, that’s all I concentrate on in the shower. Now, I try to be stress-free before I step into the tub. It doesn’t guarantee I will get a new idea, but it seems to increase my chances.”

6. Building in a break. Within a five minute drive of her house, one of the entrepreneurs told me, is a upscale gym and a place where “I can grab something healthy to eat. I have made it a point to budget an hour a day to take advantage of both places and I refuse to check email or voice mail during that time.”

7. Fly first class. It used to be people said they used their travel time up in the air to think. But with packed planes and smaller seats that option has become more difficult. One option: Fly first class whenever you can, said one of the men I talked to. “It’s about equivalent to what coach used to be about 30 years ago. I find it helps.”

8. Schedule it. I have my doubts, but one of the people swears by it. He blocks off 15 minutes every day–in the middle of the day–which is labeled “thinking” on his calendar.

9. Shake up your routine. I found this one interesting. One of the reasons people say you are able to generate more ideas in the shower is because the task of showering is so routine. Since you do it by rote, your mind is free to wander. No one I talked to disagreed with that theory, but they said they noticed that that they got more and different ideas when they were doing something out of the ordinary like seeing a movie in the middle of day or taking a break at an unexpected time.

10. In praise of dead cell phones. “I would have never believed this one, if it hadn’t happened to me,” one of the people told me. “I was driving to a client meeting four hours away and my cell phone battery died and I didn’t have a car charger. After about 20 minutes–20 long minutes of panic and withdrawal pain–I came to appreciate the fact that I was not about to be interrupted. I am still not great about turning off my phone for long stretches, but I try.”

11. The old ways still work. I was curious, so I asked about the idea of taking some time off–a long weekend perhaps–where you tried to do nothing but contemplate what’s important. All three endorsed the idea and then promptly said they can’t remember the last time they did no work over three consecutive days.

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Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus

Breakpoint, February 17, 2014

Did you know that there have been more large movements of Muslims coming to Christ in the last two decades than in the preceding fourteen hundred years combined? David Garrison has documented these movements in his book, “A Wind in the House of Islam.” He also tells how many Muslims are reporting dreams and visions about the truth of Christ.

And to hear first-hand what God has done in the life of one formerly devout Muslim in particular, you’ll want to go to BreakPoint.org and catch my “BreakPoint This Week” interview with my friend Nabeel Qureshi.

Nabeel grew up in a solid, and loving, Muslim family—and not just any Muslim family. A devout family that, though residing in America, was very serious about their faith. Nabeel’s grandfather and great-grandfather were even Muslim missionaries to Indonesia and Uganda.

As a young boy, Nabeel had memorized large chunks of the Qur’an. By the time he had reached middle school, Nabeel had learned how to challenge and stump Christians who tried to share the gospel with him by asking them, for example, to defend the reliability of the Bible or the doctrine of the Trinity.

“I found out,” he said, “from a very early age that Christians just did not have answers to these questions. Each time I had a conversation, it bolstered my Islamic faith,” he told me. Nabeel stayed secure in his Muslim beliefs and identity until college, when he met a sophomore named David Wood.

David was a Christian, but when Nabeel challenged him, something strange happened. “David didn’t react like other Christians I had challenged,” Nabeel said. “He did not waver in his witness, nor did he waver in his friendship with me. Far from it—he became more engaged, answering the questions he could respond to, investigating the questions he couldn’t respond to, and spending time with me through it all.”

That, my friends, is a model of witnessing that we can all follow: explaining our faith as best we can, admitting when we don’t know the answers, doing our homework, and remaining a friend. And let’s face it: A lot of us just don’t know why we believe what we believe. As a consequence, we’re not ready for those kinds of intellectual challenges. This dishonors Christ and shortchanges our faith. After all, the command is to love God also with all our minds.

David Wood hung in there while the back-and-forth went on for years. Eventually, Nabeel had to reluctantly conclude that the case for Christianity was very strong. And then David asked Nabeel to give the Qur’an the same sort of critical treatment that he had given the Bible. He did, and he was shocked to learn that the case for Islam was so weak.

Distraught, Nabeel asked God to guide him into the truth, and you might guess what happened. After one vision and three dreams, a continued study of Scripture, and the faithful witness of a friend, Nabeel was faced with an excruciating choice: Did he love Jesus more than his family?

Finally Nabeel knew what he had to do—come off the minaret, pick up his cross and follow Jesus, no matter what. When he told his family, his mother was crushed, saying, “Why have you betrayed me?”

They left Nabeel, but Jesus didn’t. Nabeel wanted to die, asking, “Why, God?” And then he felt Christ’s answer: “Because this is not about you.” Now, Nabeel is an itinerant evangelist with Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, and his story has just been published in his book “Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus.”

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Loneliness is killing us

Philippa Perry, The Guardian, 17 February 2014

That loneliness is a health issue would not have been a surprise to Mother Teresa who once said: “The biggest disease today is not leprosy or cancer or tuberculosis, but rather the feeling of being unwanted, uncared for and deserted by everybody.”

But now doctors have quantified the effects of the loneliness disease, warning that lonely people are nearly twice as likely to die prematurely as those who do not suffer feelings of isolation. Being lonely it seems, is a lot more worrying for your health than obesity.

In a report called Rewarding Social Connections Promote Successful Ageing that Professor John Cacioppo presented in Chicago at the weekend, the effect of satisfying relationships on the elderly was measured.

Cacioppo’s team found that friendships helped older people develop their resilience and ability to bounce back after adversity, as well as an ability to gain strength from stress rather than be diminished by it.

Not surprisingly, there is no corresponding good news for those less well connected to other people. Loneliness has dramatic consequences on health. Feeling isolated from others can disrupt sleep, raise blood pressure, lower immunity, increase depression, lower overall subjective wellbeing and increase the stress hormone cortisol (at sustained high levels, cortisol gradually wears your body down).

Older people can avoid the consequences of loneliness by staying in touch with former colleagues, taking part in family gatherings and sharing good times with family and friends, says Cacioppo. Moving away from an established community to retire to a seaside idyll could often be a mistake, but such good common sense probably doesn’t go far enough.

The Lonely Society, a 2010 report commissioned by The Mental Health Foundation, cited a link between our “individualistic society” and the increase in common mental health disorders in the last 50 years.

It also drew on research showing that mental health problems occur more frequently in unequal societies where vulnerable people are often left behind. By squandering “social capital” in the individualistic pursuit of greater wealth, or treating social networks as incidental, are we neglecting a part of life that makes us happy and keeps us healthy for longer?

Loneliness is often the core feeling that gives rise to emotions of anger, sadness, depression, worthlessness, resentment, emptiness, vulnerability and pessimism. Lonely people frequently feel that they are disliked, are often self-obsessed and lack empathy with others. They fear rejection and keep themselves at a distance, which feeds the loneliness.

People who are lonely often think that everyone else is doing OK while they are not. They think they are the only ones carrying a burden. I have had clients talk about putting their “game face” on rather than sharing truthfully about themselves. And it can be difficult to know when it is appropriate to make the move from the former to the latter.

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More Reflection, Less Action

by Tony Schwartz, NY Times, Feb. 14, 2014

Like a classic scene in “I Love Lucy,” we default to whatever feels most urgent in the moment.

Earlier this week, I found myself talking with the chief of staff to the chief executive at a large company. The two of them had been on the road together for four consecutive weeks. I asked how that felt. “It’s brutal,” he said. “But it’s typical. My boss essentially has no openings on his schedule for the next three months.”

Think about that for a moment: This executive had no times at work when he could just breathe deep and relax for a half hour, nor could he step back after a key meeting and quietly metabolize what had just happened or look forward and muse about strategy. He could not simply wander through his office, talking to people about what they’re doing, in order to energize and enrich them, and himself.

It’s not possible to move from one activity to the next at blinding speed and be reflective at the same time. The more complex and demanding the work we do, the wider, deeper and longer the perspective we require to do it well. It’s almost impossible to do that when we create no white space in our lives.

By wider, I mean taking into account the practical effect an action is likely to have on the full range of people affected by it. By deeper, I mean considering the emotional impact the action is likely to have. And by longer, I mean thinking not just about its immediate consequences, but also its implications over time.

Consider this observation from President Obama, caught on an open mike during a stroll with Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain in 2008:

“The most important thing you need to do [in this job] is to have big chunks of time during the day when all you’re doing is thinking.”

Judgment is grounded in discernment, subtlety and nuance. “I don’t do nuance,” George W. Bush once famously said about his approach to foreign policy. But would that he had. We might have avoided a costly and unnecessary war.

Instead, we too often view the opposite of “doing” as “not doing,” and then demonize inaction. In fact, good judgment grows out of reflection, and reflection requires the sort of quiet time that gets crowded out by the next demand.

There are occasions when our first intuitive judgment is the best one—or at least moves the ball forward—but even then it makes sense to revisit decisions as new facts arise. To reflect literally means to throw light back.

The folks at Google have made a mantra out of “iterating.” They push new products out, even when they know they’re imperfect, and then constantly improve them over time. Rethinking, reconsidering, and even reimagining are built into the process.

Regular reflection also provides the space in which to decide what not to do. At the companies I visit, no topic comes up more frequently than prioritizing. It’s as though we’ve all finally recognized that there is no way to accomplish everything we’ve got on our plates—but we still haven’t figured out how to take anything off them. Time to reflect is what makes it possible to prioritize.

Instead, we keep adding new tasks, defaulting to whatever feels most urgent in the moment, while unfinished business piles up. I can’t help thinking of the classic “I Love Lucy” episode in which Lucy and Ethel are overwhelmed trying to wrap the chocolates that just keep coming at them on an assembly line.

One of the most important vehicles I use to ensure that I both reflect and prioritize is an old-fashioned handwritten to-do list, with a twist. I use it to download everything that’s on my mind—not just calls to make and emails to send, but also ideas I want to explore, conflicts I haven’t resolved, and longer-term projects I intend to pursue.

When I can’t decide whether something is worth my time, I try to stop and answer two reflective questions—a task that ends up saving rather than costing time.

1. Could someone else do this just as well or better than I can? If so, I try to turn it over.

2. Is the time and energy I invest going to produce anything I’ll still consider worth having done a month from now?

We need less conventional wisdom and more genuine wisdom; less sheer output and more insights that add enduring value.

Tony Schwartz is the chief executive of the Energy Project and the author, most recently, of “Be Excellent at Anything: The Four Keys to Transforming the Way We Work and Live."

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Deus Tem Seus Motivos

Maria Fontaine


“Entre vocês há alguém que está doente? Que ele mande chamar os presbíteros da igreja, para que estes orem sobre ele e o unjam com óleo, em nome do Senhor. E a oração feita com fé curará o doente; o Senhor o levantará. E se houver cometido pecados, ele será perdoado.”—Tiago 5:14–15 NVI

O ministério de cura incorpora o amor e o poder de Deus na vida das pessoas tanto física como espiritualmente, e elas ficam muito agradecidas. Ser um canalizador desse amor é uma inspiração e até transforma a sua vida. Todos nós ficamos encorajados após ouvirmos testemunhos de como o Senhor curou.

Por mais maravilhoso que seja vivenciar a emoção de testemunhar uma cura milagrosa, um grande dilema para qualquer cristão sincero ao orar por cura, é a possibilidade de a pessoa não ser curada de imediato. Se isso acontecer quando você estiver orando por alguém, talvez se sinta sob condenação, achando que você falhou à pessoa. Às vezes a cura não acontece porque algumas condições não foram cumpridas, ou por faltade fé da sua parte ou da pessoa que estava recebendo a oração, ou ambas as coisas. Precisamos ter em mente que os caminhos de Deus estão acima dos nossos caminhos, e que Ele nem sempre age como esperamos, pedimos, ou achamos que Ele deveria.[1] Em algumas ocasiões Ele prefere não curar a pessoa fisicamente. Por quê? Só Deus sabe o motivo. Cada situação é única, específica das pessoas envolvidas e tem relação à maneira como o Senhor está agindo em suas vidas.

Muitos de nós sabemos, por experiência, que existem bons motivos para problemas ou perdas. É um fato evidente na vida de grandes cristãos como Fanny Crosby, Louis Braille, Helen Keller, John Milton, Amy Carmichael, Samuel Schereschewsky, e muitos outros. Se virmos como Deus usou grandemente muitos homens e mulheres cristãos e o fruto que eles deram apesar de seus problemas, é fácil entender por que Ele permitiu tais deficiências, tanto as temporárias como as permanentes. As dificuldades na vida de alguém, cristão ou não, tem o potencial para gerar compaixão, maturidade, e a compreensão que Jesus pode usar para abrir nossos corações para o Seu Espírito de amor.

Eu já ouvi falar de evangelistas com ministérios maravilhosos curando as pessoas, mas eles próprios sofriam de enfermidades graves. Eles oraram repetidamente por cura, mas nunca foram curados. Às vezes, o Senhor, na Sua misericórdia, usa esse tipo de situação para ajudar a contrabalançar a inclinação que essas pessoas têm ao orgulho devido à fama e ao louvor que recebem. Ou pode usar para ser uma demonstração ainda maior da grande fé e confiança que tais evangelistas possuem, como no caso de Jó, que disse: “Ainda que Ele me mate, nEle confiarei”.[2] Até o apóstolo Paulo afirmou ter orado várias vezes para ser libertado do seu “espinho na carne”, e aparentemente não foi atendido.[3]Ele afirmou: “Portanto, eu me gloriarei ainda mais alegremente em minhas fraquezas, para que o poder de Cristo repouse em mim.”

Faz-me lembrar da história de um jovem gago. Ele era um testemunho incrível para o Senhor, mas queria muito ser libertado desse problema que tantos constrangimentos lhe causava, e pelo qual ele tinha orado muitas vezes. Mas ele não recebeu o milagre que esperava e desejava. Pelo contrário, descobriu algo mais valioso. Ele explicou: “Acho que o Senhor quer usar a minha gagueira para a Sua glória, porque quando testemunho, as pessoas sentem tanta pena de mim, que sempre prestam atenção!” Apesar de não ter sido libertado do problema, ele aprendeu a usá-lo positivamente e para a glória de Deus. Percebeu que, no seu caso, o que ele considerava um empecilho, na verdade era uma ferramenta de testificação.

Outro caso é o de Nick Vujicic, que nasceu sem membros inferiores e superiores, no entanto conduz um ministério incrível, e viaja pelo mundo inteiro testemunhando a muitos. A sua deficiência tem servido para ele encorajar milhões de pessoas que se sentiram atraídas pela sua fé e amor por Jesus, bem como sua perseverança e atitude positiva mesmo com essa deficiência.

A lista é bem longa. Eu acho que, se pararmos para pensar, encontraremos motivos muito importantes por que o Senhor permite problemas na vida dos Seus filhos e não os liberta imediatamente e nem nesta vida.

A fé não é uma questão de confiar quando tudo dá certo. Mas quando as coisas dão errado é que a fé entra em cena. E nós deveríamos ter uma reação de confiança quando as coisas não acontecem como esperávamos ou pedimos. A nossa confiança de que o Senhor sabe mais do que nós, mostra às pessoas que servimos a um Deus magnífico, que é digno da nossa confiança e serviço. Graças a Deus Ele sabe mais do que nós, e graças a Deus Ele faz o que sabe que é melhor!

Nós não somos responsáveis por decidir quem é curado ou não. Mas é nossa responsabilidade ter amor suficiente para arriscar sermos considerados uns fracassos contanto obedeçamos ao Senhor e ajamos segundo o Seu conselho. Se estivermos orando pela cura de alguém porque desejamos glorificar ao Senhor, por um amor puro por Ele e pelos outros, não vamos ficar muito preocupados com o nosso aparente “sucesso”. Poderemos confiar nEle quer as coisas ocorram como esperamos, quer não.

Se você orar, Deus responderá da maneira que a pessoa mais precisa, e no melhor momento. Só que Ele nem sempre atende às nossas orações da maneira como esperamos ou desejamos. Mas precisamos confiar nEle. Deus nos chamou para ministrar o Seu amor a outros, inclusive orar em fé pela cura das pessoas quando Ele nos conduz nesse sentido. Se o fizermos, poderemos então depositar a nossa confiança nEle, acreditando que Ele vai responder na Sua hora e à Sua maneira—curando a mente, o coração, o espírito, ou o corpo.


“Eu acredito em um Deus que tudo pode. Mas se Ele preferir não me dar armas e braços, eu sei que é por um bom motive. Posso não entender, mas só preciso saber que Ele vai me ajudar e que isso tem um propósito.

“Nós não podemos nem devemos comprar o sofrimento das pessoas. Nós nos reunimos como uma família de Deus, de mãos dadas. E juntos nos firmamos nas promessas de Deus, sabendo que, não importa quem somos, não importa a situação pela qual estamos passando, Deus está ciente, está ao nosso lado, e vai nos ajudar a superar.

“Os desafios da vida servem para fortalecer nossas convicções, e não para nos atropelar.”—Nick Vujicic



Publicado originalmente em março 2011. Adaptado e republicado em agosto 2013. Tradução Hebe Rondon Flandoli.


[1] Isaias 55:8–9.

[2] Jó 13:15 NVI.

[3] 2 Coríntios 12:7–10 NVI.

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Treasures of His Presence

Words from Jesus

Audio length: 13:05
Download Audio (11.9MB)

In that day he will be your sure foundation, providing a rich store of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of the Lord will be your treasure.—Isaiah 33:61

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God wanted to make known to them the glorious riches of this mystery … which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.—Colossians 1:272

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I am Christ in you, the hope of Glory. The one who walks beside you, holding you by your hand, is the same One who lives within you. This is a deep unfathomable mystery. You and I are intertwined in an intimacy involving every fiber of your being. The Light of My presence shines within you, as well as upon you. I am in you, and you are in Me; therefore nothing in heaven or on earth can separate you from Me!

As you sit quietly in My presence, your awareness of My life within you is heightened. This produces the joy of the Lord, which is your strength. I, the God of hope, fill you with all peace, as you trust in Me, so that you may bubble over with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.3

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When people’s hearts are empty, they are unhappy and unfulfilled. They desire to be happy and to satisfy the hunger that they have. They often look around and they see that which is appealing in the world, and they try to fill their vacuum. But what they do not see or understand is that these things will never fully satisfy.

Some will think they will find no happiness in surrendering to Me. They do not see how that could make them any happier or fill the vacuum that they have in their heart. But those who give in love for Me and in unselfishness, experience the true joys of My Spirit which are beyond comparison with anything else in this world! This satisfies the heart like nothing else can. It fills the need and satisfies the hunger. But the only way this comes is through surrender and loving Me.

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When you look about you in the world today, there are the rich, the very rich, the poor, and the very poor. There are those who have much and those who have little. You look about you and you say, “Oh, these are rich and these are poor.” But I say to you that in your faith you hold the true riches, the riches of the Spirit. You are the ultra-wealthy in the Spirit. You have so much—an abundance of the wealth of My Word, My truth, My peace, My love, My understanding, and My depth of Spirit. And they who don’t know Me, whether rich or poor materially, are all spiritually destitute.

So give of your abundance. Give of your wealth. Share and pour out the wealth that I have poured unto you—the wealth of My Word, the wealth of My love, the wealth of My compassion. Give to them that are needy and that are destitute. All those that do not know Me are needy and destitute, for they lack the true riches of the Spirit of God, the true wealth, the coinage of the realm of faith—love, hope, salvation—the true riches of the Spirit.

For you have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and I send you forth as My ambassadors to disburse the riches of the kingdom. Freely you have received, freely give. Pour forth to these who are lost and destitute, who hunger and thirst after righteousness.

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I give grace to the lowly, and a broken heart I will not despise. All those who come before Me seeking My guidance and My direction, I will guide in a plain path, whether it be night or day. I will give you answers. I will dispel the questions and uncertainties. When you are undecided, I will give a clear indication. I will be a red light when you need to stop, a green light when you need to go ahead, and a yellow light when you need to proceed with caution.

I am your light in darkness to give you hope. I am your armor to protect you. I am your force field against all harm. I am your blanket for warmth, and your cool breeze in the heat of the day. I am a word fitly spoken for every occasion.

I am the garden where you will find fellowship. I am the rose whose fragrance brings a soothing calm to your spirit. I am the dewy early morning where time stops while we share heart to heart. I am the sunset that warms and satisfies your heart with its eternal majestic glow. I am the tide with its faithful and cleansing rolling waves lapping on the shores of your life.

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In times of darkness, I will be your light. In times of sadness, I will be your joy. In times of struggle, I will be your deliverance. In times of weakness, I will be your strength. In times of question, I will be your answer. In times of doubt, I will be faith unto you. And more important than any of this, I am love to you. I love you and I forgive you. I want to heal you and mend your wounds. I want to strengthen you and renew your heart, renew your spirit, renew your conviction and your will to live.

So do not be discouraged or disheartened. Do not look back. Do not be remorseful over the mistakes and sins of the past, for the past is the past. I have covered those mistakes and sins, and that which was scarlet shall be made white as snow.4 As far as the east is from the west, so far have I removed your transgressions from you.5 In the very moment that you seek My forgiveness, in the very instant that you call out to Me, I immediately grant My forgiveness, and there is no more need to worry or fear or carry the burden yourself.

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Think of My Word and everything it is to you. It is love and warmth and power and light. It gives strength and satisfaction, a purpose in life, and a reason to live. In My Word you’ll find answers to all your problems. It never fails. It never lets you down. My Word is as precious gold. It is a rare treasure. It stands forever. It is comfort, peace, light, and life. My Word is the secret to everything. It is power and enlightenment. It is knowledge and wisdom. My Word is fulfillment. My Word offers thrills, excitement, and challenge.

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You are precious in My sight, for I love you dearly and intimately. Even the very hairs of your head are numbered. I know your heart and your many thoughts. I want you to know that I am right here beside you, holding your hand. I am a constant help in time of trouble. Never think or feel that you are alone, for My presence is always with you, and My Spirit will give you help.

Come unto Me. Cast aside your cares and worries. I love you more than you can know! My love for you is without measure, without end, without boundaries. My love for you is eternal. Remember that. Keep your eyes steadfast on Me and on My love. Be reassured in your heart that I am with you always, holding your right hand.

Spend time with Me, and you will be refreshed and strengthened and inspired. My strength is sufficient through you. I am nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and I save those who are of a contrite spirit. Trust in Me. Trust in My love for you. Don’t look at the waves. Don’t look at the obstacles the Enemy would put in your path to try to discourage you, to slow you down, to even stop you. Keep looking ahead. Look unto Me, for I will never let you down. I will never fail you.

I am thankful for your many years of faithful service and for all that you have done for Me and for My kingdom. Do not think that I have not noticed it! I have noticed and greatly appreciated it, and I will reward you accordingly. You are laying up for yourself great treasures, great riches. And one day you will hear My voice saying to you, “Well done, My precious and faithful one. Enter into My joy! Enter into My wonderful kingdom of love and enjoy all these things which I have prepared for you.”

Therefore keep that heavenly vision of the wonderful things in store for you—not only in heaven, but there on earth. So think on these things, and let your heart be filled with My love and joy and peace. You are Mine forever, and nothing will separate you from My love.

Originally published in 1997, unless otherwise indicated. Adapted and republished February 2014 @tfi. Read by Simon Peterson. Music by Michael Dooley.


1 NLT

2 NET.

3 Sarah Young, Jesus Calling (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2010).

4 Isaiah 1:18.

5 Psalm 103:12.

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Can a scientist believe in miracles?

By Prof Jacalyn Duffin, Queen’s University, Canada, BBC, 14 Feb. 2014

Peering down the microscope, I saw a deadly leukaemia cell and decided that the patient whose blood I was examining must be dead. It was 1986, and I was reading a large stack of bone marrow samples “blind” without being told why.

Given the nasty diagnosis, I imagined that it must be for a lawsuit. Perhaps a grieving family was suing the doctor for a death that really could not have been helped.

The bone marrows told a story: the patient took chemotherapy, went into remission, then relapsed, had more treatment, and went into remission for a second time. Then the slides stopped.

Later I learned that she was still alive some seven years after her ordeal. The case was not a lawsuit. Instead it was being considered by the Vatican as a miracle in the dossier for canonization of Marie-Marguerite d’Youville. No saint had yet been born in Canada.

But the Vatican had already rejected the case as a miracle. Its experts argued that she had not had a first remission and a relapse; instead, they contended that the second round of treatment produced a first remission.

This seemingly subtle distinction was crucial. We speak of the medical possibility of cure in first remission, but not following a relapse. The experts in Rome agreed to reconsider their decision if a “blind” witness would examine the slides again and find what I had just seen.

I had never heard of the canonization process and could not believe that the decision would require so much scientific deliberation. Would-be saints need a miracle to establish that they are with God. They also need to have lived exemplary lives documented with evidence in biographies.

Out of curiosity, I read the biography of d’Youville. Born near Montreal, she had established a home for the poor and disabled, a hospice, a soup kitchen and an order of nuns who founded schools around the world. Her life certainly seemed exemplary.

Time passed. I was invited to give testimony about my report at an ecclesiastical tribunal. Worried about being asked something difficult, I took along some articles from the medical literature about survival in leukaemia, highlighting the most relevant passages in bright pink.

At the end of the session, I left the papers with the investigators. The patient and treating physician also testified at the tribunal. The patient explained how she had appealed to d’Youville during her relapse

More time passed. Finally, we learned the exciting news that d’Youville would be canonized by Pope John Paul II on 9 December 1990. The nuns who had been promoting her cause invited me to attend the ceremony.

At first, I hesitated not wishing to offend them; I am an atheist and my husband is a Jew. But they were happy to include us both in the ceremony, and we could not pass up the privilege of witnessing the recognition of our country’s first saint.

The ceremony was in St Peter’s Basilica. There were the nuns, the treating doctor and the patient. Immediately following, we met the Pope—an unforgettable moment.

In Rome, the Canadian postulants gave me a present—a book that altered my life utterly. It was a copy of the Positio—the bound testimony of the entire Ottawa miracle that had been submitted for review.

It contained the hospital records, transcripts of the testimony of the doctors and the patient. It also contained my report and the articles that I had left with the tribunal. The bright pink highlighting had reproduced as black redaction. But it didn’t matter because references for the articles were complete.

Suddenly, I realized with amazement that my medical work would reside in the Vatican archives. In that same instant, the historian in me wondered, what were all the other miracles that had been used for canonizations past? Were they healings too? What diseases were cured? Was medical science involved in the past as much as it is now? What did the doctor witnesses do and say?

Twenty years later and after many trips to the Vatican Archives, I have published two books on medicine and religion.

In the first, Medical Miracles, I analyze 1400 miracles used in the canonization process for several hundred saints over the course of 400 years. Almost all of these miracles are healings and the majority involved up-to-date science and the testimony of physicians.

The second book, Medical Saints, opens with the full story of my miracle summarized above and continues with an analysis of the modern veneration of Saints Cosmas and Damian—twin-brother doctors, martyred in the year 300.

Their popularity in North America seems to be on the rise. They too are invoked by people who are ill, people who also consult their doctors and take their medicine.

The research uncovered dramatic stories of recovery and courage. It revealed some striking parallels between medicine and religion in terms of reasoning and purpose, and it showed that the Church had not shrunk from science in its deliberations over the miraculous.

Though still an atheist, I believe in miracles—wondrous things that happen for which we can find no scientific explanation.

That first patient is still alive some 30 years after her brush with acute myeloblastic leukaemia, and I cannot explain why. She can.

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Big Bang or Creation?

Big bang vs_creation_ edtech2 from arjannevillamarzo

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Um Lugar Preparado

Compilação

Pela fé Abraão, quando chamado, obedeceu e dirigiu-se a um lugar que mais tarde receberia como herança, embora não soubesse para onde estava indo.

Pela fé peregrinou na terra prometida como se estivesse em terra estranha; viveu em tendas, bem como Isaque e Jacó, co-herdeiros da mesma promessa.

Pois ele esperava a cidade que tem alicerces, cujo arquiteto e edificador é Deus.

Todos estes ainda viveram pela fé, e morreram sem receber o que tinha sido prometido; viram-nas de longe e de longe as saudaram, reconhecendo que eram estrangeiros e peregrinos na terra.

Os que assim falam mostram que estão buscando uma pátria.

Se estivessem pensando naquela de onde saíram, teriam oportunidade de voltar.

Em vez disso, esperavam eles uma pátria melhor, isto é, a pátria celestial. Por essa razão Deus não se envergonha de ser chamado o Deus deles, pois preparou-lhes uma cidade.—Hebreus 11:8–10, 13–16[1]

*

Desde 1906, a cada dois anos, ocorre a corrida Transoac Race, de Los Angeles ao Havaí.

A tradição nesse evento é que, não importa quando você alcança a linha de chegada, mesmo sendo duas horas da manhã. Quando o competidor chega à marina Ala Moana em Oahu, alguém anuncia o nome do barco e dos tripulantes que participaram da corrida. Usam um alto falante possante, e uma voz ribomba pelos ventos dando as boas vindas a cada um que chega ao destino.

Vou lhes poupar os detalhes da viagem. Mas o dia já estava quase amanhecendo, dezesseis dias depois que deixamos Los Angeles a bordo do nosso pequeno barco, com um mínimo conhecimento de navegação. De repente, o silêncio foi quebrado por uma voz trovejante anunciando o nome da nossa tripulação despreparada, como se estivesse apresentando dignitários. Ele foi anunciando cada nome, orgulhosamente, e tornou-se um momento muito emotivo para todos a bordo.

Ao falar meu nome, ele não mencionou nosso pouco conhecimento de navegação. Ele nem tocou na questão de que nem sabíamos que direção era norte, nem todos os outros problemas. Pelo contrário, ele simplesmente me recebeu chegando da aventura como um pai orgulhoso trataria o seu filho. Depois do anúncio, ele fez uma pausa e disse, com muita sinceridade, estas palavras para a tripulação: “Amigos, foi uma longa viagem, bem-vindos ao lar.”

Eu sempre pensei na chegada ao Céu como uma recepção semelhante… Ao atingirmos a linha de chegada, imagino que será como alcançar a marina no Havaí, ouvindo nossos nomes anunciados no alto falante, um por um. E no final, talvez ouviremos algumas palavras do nosso Pai, que dirá orgulhosamente: “Amigos, foi uma longa viagem. Bem-vindos ao lar.”—Bob Goff[2]

*

Muitas vezes o dia parece longo e as provações insuportáveis,
Queremos nos queixar, murmurar e desesperar;
Mas Cristo virá em breve para arrebatar a Sua noiva,
Nosso pesar será deixado para trás na eternidade.

Nada importará ao vermos Jesus,
Batalhas se reduzirão vermos Sua luz;
Um vislumbre da Sua face levará toda a tristeza,
Então corra a corrida até o fim chegar.—Esther Kerr Rusthoi

*

Quanto mais desejamos o Céu, menos cobiçamos as coisas da Terra.—David Brandt Berg[3]

*

Pensar no Céu nos inspira e incentiva a ter uma visão mais espiritualizada e entender que o Céu é um lugar real onde vamos viver.—David Brandt Berg[4]

*

Imagine,
Chegar ao outro lado,
E descobrir que chegou ao Céu!
Segurar uma mão,
E descobrir que é a mão de Deus.
Inalar um ar diferente,
E descobrir que é ar celestial.
Sentir-se revigorado,
E descobrir que é imortalidade.
Passar de chuva e tempestade
Para uma calmaria constante.
Acordar e descobrir que chegou ao lar.
—Autor desconhecido

*

Acho que já mencionei uma vez que não tinha cidadania no país, porque casei com um sueco nascido na Suécia, que não tinha cidadania. Se eles soubesse que maravilhoso homem de Deus ele era! Durante a guerra, se você se casasse com um estrangeiro, você se tornava estrangeiro! No meu caso, meus avós e pais eram nativos deste país.

Mesmo assim, tornei-me estrangeira. Cada mês eu tinha que informar onde me encontrava, porque era “estrangeira”! Ridículo! E no momento não tenho tempo para mencionar todos os aspectos dessa situação, mas uma coisa posso afirmar: foi muito constrangedor. Levou um tempo para um readquirir a minha cidadania.

Nessa época, uma passagem bíblica que se tornou um grande console foi pensar que a minha cidadania era do Céu. “Pois somos cidadãos do céu”, Filipenses 3:20. Quero falar um pouco sobre essa questão.

Um tempo atrás, uma certa noite, mesmo custando, tive que assistir a um programa já tarde sobre uma crise nacional. Na época acho que a situação era na África.

Eu queria estar bem informada, e fui me envolvendo cada vez mais nas diferentes fases da situação, até perceber que estava me afetando espiritualmente.

Eu estava tão envolvida nas questões deste mundo, mesmo sem me envolver fisicamente, exceto manter-me a par das notícias para poder conversar a respeito.

Mas eram tantas situações sobre as quais estar informada a respeito da confusão deste mundo, que foi impossível não me preocupar e às vezes até ficar um pouco amargurada e frustrada com a condição no mundo. Decididamente estava afetando a minha vida espiritual. E uma certa noite, durante um programa já tarde, que eu parei para resolver essa situação no meu íntimo.

Não estou dizendo nada contra estar bem informado, mas deve ser informação útil que pode ser usada para a glória de Deus. Quero ser uma boa cidadã, mas devemos sempre nos lembrar dessa passagem, que somos cidadãos do Céu.—Virginia Brandt Berg[5]

*

Sabe aquele sentimento que se tem em um casamento, ouvindo música e esperando até a cerimônia começar? Aquela expectativa, a emoção intense, a força do significado desse evento? Aí então entra o noivo e os padrinhos. Depois começam a vir no sentido do altar os pajens e as daminhas e as damas de honra. Subitamente aumenta o volume da música, todos se levantam e olham para trás. Nesse momento a porta se abre e entra a bela noiva acompanhada do pai. Todos ficam maravilhados com a beleza e a força daquele momento. E sabe que está para presenciar um novo começo, algo que estava previsto.

Mantenha na sua mente uma visão do Céu também. Vai acontecer um casamento no futuro, o seu casamento. E a expectativa é grande enquanto esperamos a união de Deus com o Seu povo. Esperamos ansiosamente pelo prazer do evento que está por acontecer.

E vai acontecer mesmo!

Um dia, os portões do Céu vão se abrir e o povo do reino finalmente estará junto do Rei para sempre.—Rick McKinley[6]

Publicado no Âncora em dezembro 2013. Tradução Hebe Rondon Flandoli.


[1] NVI.

[2] Love Does (Thomas Nelson, 2012).

[3] Vislumbres do Céu (Aurora Production, 2004).

[4] Vislumbres do Céu (Aurora Production, 2004).

[5] http://virginiabrandtberg.org/meditation-moments/mm061_heavenly-citizenship.html.

[6] This Beautiful Mess (Multnomah Books, 2006).

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Constant in Prayer

A compilation


Audio length: 9:48
Download Audio (8.9MB)

Prayer is the basis of our Christian life, the source of our experience of Jesus as the Risen Lord. Yet how few Christians know how to pray with any depth! For most of us, prayer means little more than standing in the pews for an hour or so on Sunday morning or perhaps reciting, in a mechanical fashion, prayers once learned by rote during childhood. Our prayer life—and thus our life as Christians—remains, for the most part, at this superficial level.

But this approach to the life of prayer has nothing to do with the Christianity of St. Paul, who urges the Christians of first century Thessalonica to “pray without ceasing.”1 And in his letter to Rome, the Apostle instructs the Christian community there to “be constant in prayer.”2 He not only demands unceasing prayer of the Christians in his care, but practices it himself. “We constantly thank God for you”3 he writes in his letter to the Thessalonian community; and he comforts Timothy, his “true child in the faith,”4 with the words: “Always I remember you in my prayers.”5

In fact, whenever Paul speaks of prayer in his letters, two Greek words repeatedly appear: pantote, which means always, and adialeptos, meaning without interruption orunceasingly. Prayer is then not merely a part of life which we can conveniently lay aside if something we deem more important comes up; prayer is all of life. Prayer is as essential to our life as breathing.

This raises some important questions. How can we be expected to pray all the time? We are, after all, very busy people. Our work, our spouse, our children, our school—all place heavy demands upon our time. How can we fit more time for prayer into our already overcrowded lives? These questions and the many others like them which could be asked set up a false dichotomy in our lives as Christians. To pray does not mean to think about God in contrast to thinking about other things or to spend time with God in contrast to spending time with our family and friends. Rather, to pray means to think and live our entire life in the presence of God. As Paul Evdokimov has remarked: “Our whole life, every act and gesture, even a smile must become a hymn or adoration, an offering, a prayer. We must become prayer—prayer incarnate.” This is what St. Paul means when he writes to the Corinthians that “whatever you do, do it for the glory of God.”6—Father Steven Peter Tsichlis7

*

One of the best ways to put our thoughts to good use is to turn them into prayers. Think of all the things you think about throughout the day—all the things you deliberately think about and all the random thoughts that run through your head. Now size them up and ask yourself what your thoughts are accomplishing. Are you transforming your thoughts into prayers that can bring about some good?

Are your thoughts being turned into prayers to help sustain a soul in need? Or are they turning a blind eye to the one who cries for help? Are you tapping into heavenly power through prayer? Are you directing your thoughts to where they can make a positive difference?

It’s clear by everything that is written in the Bible about prayer that God wants us to learn to convert our thoughts into prayer by praying for people and situations instead of just thinking about them. Thoughts turned into prayers can materialize into God’s blessings, intervention, protection, power, strength, or healing balm.

We can turn thoughts into prayer anytime, anywhere. For example, if you’re at home cooking and your thoughts turn to your kids at school, you can pray that they’ll have a good day. Or if while at work you start thinking about a difficult upcoming project, you can turn that thought into a prayer for the Lord’s strength for the task. Or maybe you pass by an accident while driving home; you can pray for those who may have been hurt, as well as for your own safety and others’ safety on the road.

How you direct your thoughts can make a difference. As you learn to turn your thoughts into prayers, sending them on to where they can accomplish some genuine good, it will make your life easier and bring about progress.—Maria Fontaine

*

Prayer is not so much an act as it is an attitude—an attitude of dependency, dependency upon God.—Arthur W. Pink

*

Because prayer is an expression of man’s personal life with a personal God, it readily assumes the forms and characteristics of personal life. We know that conversation between persons does not take place according to certain prescribed rules and regulations, but occurs freely and spontaneously as the occasion may require. That is what makes conversation personal, gives it life and freshness. The more personal conversation is in this sense of the word, the more it becomes real communication, a mutual exchange of ideas in which life speaks to life.

So also with prayer. It should be free, spontaneous, vital fellowship between the created person and the personal Creator, in which life should touch life. The more that prayer becomes the untrammelled, free, and natural expression of the desires of our hearts, the more real it becomes.—Ole Hallesby

*

O Lord God who art all in all to me, Life of my life and Spirit of my spirit, have mercy on me and fill me with Thy Holy Spirit and with love that there may be no room for anything else in my heart.

I ask not for any blessing, but for Thyself, who art the giver of all blessings and of all life. I ask not for the world and its pomp and glory, nor for heaven, but I need Thee Thyself, for where Thou art, there is heaven.

In Thyself alone is satisfaction and abundance for my heart; Thou Thyself, O Creator, hast created this heart for Thyself, and not for any other created thing. Therefore this heart cannot find rest in aught but Thee: only in Thee, O Father, who hast made this longing for peace. So now take out of this heart whatever is opposed to Thee and abide and rule in it Thyself. Amen.—Prayer of Sadhu Sundar Singh

*

Search for the Lord and his strength. Always seek his presence.—1 Chronicles 16:118

*

Prayer is the golden thread running through the beautiful tapestry of your life. That golden thread brings spark and life to the picture. A little speck of gold here or there would add to the tapestry, but what I want you to aim for is to make that golden thread an unbroken line weaving in and out of every part of the picture—every part of your life and work for Me. Keep the prayer fires burning in your heart, and My power will give a golden shine to all the work that you put your hand to.—Jesus, speaking in prophecy

Published on Anchor February 2014 @tfi. Read by Bethany Kelly. Music by Daniel Sozzi.


1 1 Thessalonians 5:17.

2 Romans 12:12.

3 1 Thessalonians 2:13.

4 See 1 Timothy 1:2.

5 2 Timothy 1:3.

6 1 Corinthians 10:31.

7 Fr. Steven Peter Tsichlis in The Jesus Prayer, Greek Orthodox Diocese of America.

8 GW.

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