Personal Development on Expectations

illustration

How We Wait

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 40:31, Habakkuk 2:3, James 5:7-8, 2 Peter 3:8-9, Psalm 27:13-14

Part of our experience of waiting is cultural, and how time elapses while we wait can vary from person to person and context to context. We wait differently and we have different expectations that are...

Quote

Author

Bryan Chapell

Keywords

Grace frees us from having to earn God’s acceptance by meeting others’ expectations, and it also frees us from the unholy pride and prejudice of determining others’ acceptance by God on the basis of o...

illustration

You’re Sicker Than You Think

Author

Steven C. Roy

Keywords

My wife, Susan and I were sitting in the office of a fellow pastor, Jack Harrison, in the fall of 1992. The recommendation of friends had led us to Jack’s office. “He’s an amazing counselor,” they sai...

Quote

Author

Hannah Whitall Smith

Keywords

No soul can be really at rest until it has given up all dependence on everything else and has been forced to depend on the Lord alone. As long as our expectation is from other things, nothing but disa...

illustration

The Construction of Utopias

Author

Eugene H. Peterson

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 16:10, Acts 17:26-27, Zechariah 4:10, Matthew 25:21, Colossians 3:23-24

One of the seductions that continues to bedevil Christian obedience is the construction of utopias, whether in fact or fantasy, ideal places where we can live the good and blessed and righteous life w...

illustration

Stories We Tell Ourselves

Author

The Cruzman

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 7:1-2, John 7:24, Proverbs 3:5, Ecclesiastes 7:9

A man named Jack was driving on a dark country road one night when he got a flat tire. He saw a cabin in the woods and began to walk towards it. He told himself that the person who answered the door w...

illustration

Who Didn't Make it Out?

Author

Jim Collins

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 5:3-5, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, Proverbs 13:12, Numbers 14:, James 1:2-4, 2 Corinthians 11:23-28

Jim Collins, the author of Good to Great , interviewed Admiral Jim Stockdale, the highest-ranking officer in the Hanoi Hilton prisoner of war camp during the height of the Vietnam War. Regarding the ...

Quote

Author

C. S. Lewis

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 18:3, 2 Corinthians 12:9, James 4:6, James 4:6, Matthew 5:3, 1 Peter 5:6

Grace substitutes a full, childlike and delighted acceptance of our need, a joy in total dependence. The good man is sorry for the sins which have increased his need. He is not entirely sorry for the ...

illustration

Learning by Example

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 18:15-17, Luke 15:11-32 , Hebrews 12:11, Genesis 18:19, Psalm 25:4

The late comedian Sam Levenson enjoyed sharing funny anecdotes about his childhood, especially his early school days. One of his favorite stories was about his first day of school, when his overly pro...

illustration

The Dart-Board

Author

Joan Chittister

Keywords

The Benedictine nun Joan Chittister recounts a story she once heard by a communications professor, which she said fundamentally changed the way she thought about success and failure: A young boy was...

illustration

Fostering Shame in a Little Girl

Author

Sandra D. Wilson

Keywords

I was standing in line in a crowded public rest room engaged in one of my favorite hobbies, people watching, when I observed a brief interaction between a mother and daughter. Mother looked harried an...

blog

A Theology of Failure: Why Pastors Need Grace for Their Mistakes

Author

Andrew Arndt

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 103:14

A brother asked Abba Sisoes, “What shall I do, abba, for I have fallen?” The old man said, “Get up again.” The brother said, “I have got up again, but I have fallen again.” The old man said, “Get up a...

illustration

The Gift of an Invitation

Author

Ruth Haley Barton

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 55:1–3, Exodus 3:1–12, Proverbs 9:1–6, Matthew 11:28–30, John 1:35–39, Psalm 3:4:8

One of the reasons I love a good invitation is that I get tired of being told what to do. As the very responsible oldest daughter of a pastor and someone who entered vocational ministry at a young age...

blog

Identity and Pastors: Struggle, Success, and the Silent Battle

Author

Geoffrey V. Dudley

Keywords

"Not Against Flesh and Blood..." There is an unspoken battle that every pastor faces—a battle not against flesh and blood , nor merely against the seen forces of ministry challenges, but...

illustration

Crafting Excellence Amid Constant Shifts

Author

Tom Nelson

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 31:1-5 , Proverbs 22:29, Ecclesiastes 9:10 , Matthew 25:14-30 , Colossians 3:23-24 , Psalm 90:17

The wonderful word master used to describe the person who is at the top of his or her craft, whatever the profession. It was a title that one could work toward and with some degree of confidence ascri...

blog

Shame, Hypocrisy, and Empathy in The Scarlet Letter: A Pastor’s Take

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

The Puritans in American Literature “Welcome to Honors American Literature!” You probably haven’t heard that line since high school, right? After his first couple of weeks of school, my boy came home...

illustration

Erecting a Life Around Dysfunction

Author

Adele Ahlberg Calhoun

Keywords

Scripture

John 5:6, Isaiah 43:18-19, 2 Peter 1:3, James 1:4, Hebrews 12:1-2

Remember Miss Haversham in Charles Dickens's Great Expectations? Her entire life was defined by the fact that she was jilted on her wedding day. People can become very attached to their pain and i...

blog

Climbing the Pastor's Ladder: Holy Ambition and Escaping the Comparison Trap

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

We pastors don't drive fancy cars or rake in the dough (most of us, anyway). But there is still a temptation to a skewed version of "holy success" that we need to watch out for, the idea...

blog

Preventing Pastoral Burnout: How to Cope with Overwhelm

Author

Alan Briggs

Keywords

A Leadership Coach’s Perspective I make it a habit to study what’s happening in churches across the country. I get the honor of coaching some incredible pastors, so I need to stay fresh. Any time I’m...

liturgy

Almighty God, we confess our need of

Author

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

Keywords

Almighty God, we confess our need of Your presence and Your guidance. We each have our hopes and expectations for what lies ahead, but only You can give us the strength and the wisdom we need. In life...

liturgy

Gracious God, in six days you created

Author

Mark D. Roberts

Keywords

Gracious God, in six days you created all things. On the seventh day you finished your work by resting. You also blessed and hallowed the seventh day, setting it aside as a day of rest. Teach me, Lord...

liturgy

Lord—we’re so anxious we can’t

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 40:31, Psalm 27:14, Romans 12:2, Matthew 1:23, John 11:25-26, Hebrews 13:3

Lord—we’re so anxious we can’t wait! Some of us can’t wait for Christmas to come, while (honestly) some others of us can’t wait for it to be over. We’re not proud of it—but that’s just the way it is ...

illustration

The Three Basic Truths About Guilt

Author

Valorie Burton

Keywords

There are three basic truths about guilt. If you’ll come back to these concepts anytime you begin to feel guilty, you will understand better what is going on emotionally and how you should approach th...

illustration

The Test of Spiritual Integrity

Author

Timothy Keller

Keywords

The infallible test of spiritual integrity, Jesus says, is your private prayer life. Many people will pray when they are required by cultural or social expectations, or perhaps by the anxiety caused b...

Quote

Author

Jamie Arpin-Ricci

Keywords

Vulnerability

Above all is the centrality of love at the heart of vulnerable faith. Vulnerability will thrive only where love abounds—a love that is generous, gracious, patient, compassionate, humble, curious, joyf...

Quote

Author

Harvey Dorfman

Keywords

Self-Discipline is a form of freedom. Freedom from laziness and lethargy, freedom from expectations and the demands of others, freedom from weakness and fear—and doubt.

blog

What every leader should know about change in organizations

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

You know the adage “People resist change.” It is not really true. People are not stupid. People love change when they know it is a good thing. No one gives back a winning lottery ticket. What people r...

illustration

Not Holding on as Tightly

Author

Scott Bowerman

Keywords

Here’s a story about tithing - giving away 10% of one’s income, from of all places, Forbes magazine. In the article, the writer tells the story of Greg Gianforte, the founder, chairman and CEO of Rig...

Quote

Author

Tod E. Bolsinger

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 15:1-2, Ephesians 4:15, 2 Corinthians 1:12, Colossians 3:12-14, Romans 12:9-10

Relational congruence is the ability to be fundamentally the same person with the same values in every relationship, in every circumstance and especially amidst crisis. It is the internal capacity to ...

liturgy

Expect Always the Unexpected Anticipate

Author

Dave Peterson

Keywords

Expect always the unexpected Anticipate Miracles Knowing that with God, all things are possible May the Lord bless you and keep you May the Lord make His face to shine upon you May the Lord lift up th...

personal development on Expectations

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

blog

illustration

blog

illustration

blog

illustration

blog

blog

liturgy

liturgy

liturgy

illustration

illustration

blog

illustration

liturgy

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

Y

Genesis

Exodus

Leviticus

Numbers

Deuteronomy

Joshua

Judges

Ruth

1 Samuel

2 Samuel

1 Kings

2 Kings

1 Chronicles

2 Chronicles

Nehemiah

Esther

Job

Psalm

Proverbs

Ecclesiastes

Song of Solomon

Isaiah

Jeremiah

Lamentations

Ezekiel

Daniel

Hosea

Joel

Amos

Jonah

Micah