Monthly Archives: October 2014

One peg is all it needs

Posted on October 23, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

There’s a story from Haiti about a man who wanted to sell his house but only got one offer for it, which was much less than he wanted. So he agreed on a purchase price of one thousand dollars, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Backsliding, Devil, Resisting the Devil, Sin | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Stunted growth

Posted on October 23, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

It was the Japanese who first learned how to grow the miniature bonsai tree. When it first emerges as a sapling, the owner pulls it out of the soil, ties off its tap root and some of its feeder roots … Continue reading →

Posted in Growth, Spiritual growth, Stunted growth | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The end of the beginning

Posted on October 23, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

Victor Hugo, just before he died, wrote: ‘Within my soul I feel the evidence of my future life. I am like a forest that has been cut down more than once, yet the new growth has more life than ever. … Continue reading →

Posted in Assurance, Death, Faith, Hope, Hope of Glory, Life, Life's journey | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Involuntary whooping

Posted on October 23, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

Tourette’s Syndrome is a mental disorder whose victims exhibit strange symptoms like twitches, beeps, whoops and even uncontrolled swearing. Neurologist Oliver Sachs described one sufferer who would constantly bow to the ground, shout and readjust his glasses. The strangest thing … Continue reading →

Posted in Overcoming, Self giving, Tourette's Syndrome | Tagged | Leave a comment

Keep calm and eat strawberries

Posted on October 23, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

There’s an old story about a monk fleeing from a hungry tiger. He comes to the edge of a cliff and begins to climb down a vine, out of the tiger’s reach. But then, to his dismay, he sees another … Continue reading →

Posted in Acceptance, Calmness, Danger, Faith, Fear, Life, Life's journey | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Little White Lies

Posted on October 23, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

Professor Bella DePaulo, who specializes in the study of human deception, asked a group of ordinary people to keep a notebook of lies they told in one week. She discovered that they had lied at least once to between 30 … Continue reading →

Posted in Deceit, Lies, Truth | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Anchored to hope

Posted on October 18, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

Self-made millionaire Eugene Land, a few years ago, was asked to speak to a class of teenagers in a ghetto area of New York. He wondered what he could say to inspire those kids, most of whom intended to drop … Continue reading →

Posted in Anchor, Hope, Hope of Glory, Priorities, Promise, Purpose in life | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Believing is seeing

Posted on October 18, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

St Augustine said ‘Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand.’ Another way of putting it is not to say, ‘seeing is believing,’ but rather ‘believing is … Continue reading →

Posted in Believing, Faith, Spiritual Insight, understanding | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Do what comes naturally

Posted on October 18, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

Jean McMahon, writing in the Reader’s Digest, described a church service in Kentucky, where she watched an irate father carry a boisterous child out of the service, slung under his arm. No one so much as raised an eyebrow — … Continue reading →

Posted in Prayer, Religion, Spiritual Insight, Spirituality | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The Seven Wonders of the World

Posted on October 18, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

I love the story about the teacher who asked her students to list what they thought were the Seven Wonders of the World. Most of the votes were for things like: Egypt’s Great Pyramids, the Taj Mahal, the Grand Canyon, … Continue reading →

Posted in Appreciation, love, Seven Wonders of the World, Wonder | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment