RickPage

See Me! May 25, 2016 A friend was sharing about his and another friend's depression recently. Both men had long struggled with depression. Through the years they had a daily conversations, and as they moved apart, it was most often by phone.  In the conversation in question, our common friend said, "I don't have a friend in the world."  The irony was that he had thousands of friends - including the friend on the phone.  At that moment he just could not see anything, except the enormity of the issue before him. Such is the nature of depression.  It makes the seeing blind - to hope.  It is a wind so fierce, it whisks away words of hope and encouragement from perfectly functioning ears.  Reason is nearly gone, if not gone completely.  The onslaught of depression is merciless.  The ravages to mind and spirit are further complicated by an assault on the body.  Vitality is gone.  Lethargy sets in.  Work, play and worship is affected.  Eating patterns change.  S

Words May 11, 2016 At a conference I'm attending this week three college students are highlighted who are entered into the NextGen Preacher Search.  They each must present a five minute sermon.  We heard the first one last night.  The focus on a short, effective sermon reminded me of the story of Edward Everett.  In his day, Everett was famous for his oratory skills.  The son of a pastor, and himself a pastor, Everett turned to politics and public speaking.  After delivering a 13,607 word speech, he passed a note to the man who followed him with a 272 word speech.  Everett wrote, "I should be glad, if I could flatter myself that I came as near to the central idea of the occasion, in two hours, as you did in two minutes."  Everett's was to be the address of the day, but the ten-line jewel crafted by by Abraham Lincoln has, to this day, been known as the Gettysburg Address. Martin Luther King 's famous speech, "I Have a Dream" is also a testament

Moments May 2, 2016 Do you have a friend with whom communication is difficult?  Specifically, I'm talking about those who who are not particularly good about listening.  Generally, these individuals are poor listeners because they are always talking - completely oblivious to the fact that someone else might want to say something.  One such individual comes to mind as I write this.  Lately, the blame has been put on the loss of hearing.  Doubtful, as the issue has been in place long before any hearing loss began to take place.   I wonder if God's communication with us is often just as frustrating - to him.  It's not that our hearing is defective, it's that our attention is defective.  For the most part, we tend to not be tuned in to God's communication network.  We may treat him like my friend treats others - we are too busy talking to listen.  Being the patient God that he is, I imagine he awaits the moments we stop talking and are ripe for listening.