Thankfulness for someone who encouraged thought

A great man of God passed away yesterday: Chuck Colson.

There are leaders of the faith who have inspired me, those who have equipped me, those who have encouraged me. But Chuck Colson is a leader who challenged me to think about and understand my faith. And in doing so he inspired, equipped, and encouraged.

The first time I ever heard Chuck Colson I had no idea who he was or that it was him I was listening to. At the beginning of his song, "Heaven in the Real World," Stephen Curtis Chapman had a sound bite of Colson saying this:

"Where is the hope? I meet millions of people who feel demoralized by the decay around us. The hope that each of us has is not in who governs us, or what laws we pass, or what great things we do as a nation. Our hope is in the power of God working through the hearts of people. And that's where our hope is in this country. And that's where our hope is in life." 

His life story is about that hope. His story is a testimony to the powerful grace of God.

If you've never heard of or interacted with the work of Chuck Colson, I highly recommend you do.

Read his obituary press release here.

Read his story here.

Check out his books here. If you want some suggested starting places I'd go with The Faith, How Now Shall We Live, and The Body. 

And check out this video...

Two words you can say that will give someone an instant spirit boost

A couple weeks ago I did a message at church that I felt really didn't go over that well. It wasn't my worst ever, but it wasn't as I had hoped. The collateral damage wasn't a huge dark cloud, but there was a mixture of frustration and questioning of self. My sense of perfectionism can be rather brutal at times.

After service a guy from our church asked me if I could send him the notes from a message I'd done a few weeks prior. Out of my mouth came, "Sure, no problem." In my head was, "Obviously not wanting today's stuff." Despite my pity party I emailed the notes later that afternoon. 

In the morning my inbox had a simple message from him saying thanks for the notes. But he also had this post script: 

Pearl Harbor Reflections: Unrecorded Heroism

Two trips to Hawaii for work in the last three months have each given me the privilege of visiting the Pearl Harbor Historic Sites park. Both experiences were very moving, with new sections of the sites being explored each time. This part of our country's history is something I've known of but not about. Like sitting down with a person you've known for months and being amazed after finally hearing their story, the history of Pearl Harbor feels new to me. Intriguing and fascinatingly new, the type of place you keep thinking back to, even days after being back home. Hence, this first post of others to follow.

The Reflection Circle is located toward the southern end of the Pearl Harbor Historic Sites park. Standing in the middle of its ring, you are able to look out over the area where the devastation occurred 71 years ago. Across the water on the other side of the harbor the USS Missouri is docked. It stands guard over its neighbor, the USS Arizona memorial. Of the 2,402 who died in the Pearl Harbor attacks, 1,177 of them were on the Arizona when it was bombed. The mental jarring your mind takes from contemplating everything from this vantage point make it easy to understand why it is called the Reflection Circle.