From “Trust the Whisper: How Answering Quiet Callings Inspires Extraordinary Stories of Ordinary Grace“ by Kathy Izard When I first noticed these God Dots, I was simply amazed by each connection, and I wondered about the likelihood of these seemingly serendipitous moments. Over time, I’ve come to believe that these remarkable stories are not simply […]

From “Discernment: Reading the Signs of Daily Life” by Henri Nouwen with Michael J. Christensen and Rebecca J. Laird Life is God’s initiative and can end or change suddenly, unexpectedly, and unpredictably. When we humans are ready to give up hope and resign ourselves to inevitability, God intervenes and reveals completely new beginnings. The resurrection

From “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success” by Carol S. Dweck, PhD No one knows about negative ability labels like members of stereotyped groups. For example, African Americans know about being stereotyped as lower in intelligence. And women know about being stereotyped as bad at math and science. But I’m not sure even they know

From “Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation” by Steven Johnson This is a book about the space of innovation. Some environments squelch new ideas; some environments seem to breed them effortlessly. The city and the Web have been such engines of innovation because, for complicated historical reasons, they are both environments

From “Listening to Your Life: Daily Meditations with Frederick Buechner” by Frederick Buechner TO TOUCH ME AND to feel my touch they come. To take at my hands whatever of Christ or comfort such hands have. Of their own, my hands have nothing more than any man’s and less now at this tottering, lamewit age

From “Listen To Your Day: The Life-Changing Practice of Paying Attention” by Paul Angone Many psychologists recommend the idea of taking microbreaks at work to be more productive. In the report on the “Qualitative Study of Daydreaming Episodes at Work,” a group of researchers concluded that “mind-wandering may be able to be used strategically to

From “The Language of the Soul: Meeting God in the Longings of Our Hearts” by Jeff Crosby  I first encountered Chalmers by reading Ben Patterson’s book, The Grand Essentials. In it, Patterson quoted Thomas Chalmers as having said, “The grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.”

From “Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life” by Luke Burgis ESTABLISH AND COMMUNICATE A CLEAR HIERARCHY OF VALUES A hierarchy of values is an antidote to mimetic conformity. If all values are treated equal, then the one that wins out – especially at a time of crisis – is the one that

From “How Will You Measure Your Life?” by Clayton M. Christensen, James Allworth, and Karen Dillon Let me explain in management terms: police chiefs need to look at the numbers of each type of crime, over time, to know whether their strategy is working. The manager of a business cannot see the complete health of

From “Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life” by Richard Rohr If you have, in fact, deepened and grown “in wisdom, age, and grace” (Luke 2:52), you are able to be patient, inclusive, and understanding of all the previous stages. That is what I mean by my frequent use of the phrase