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Trusting in God

If this were my last day on Earth and I had to tell my kids some words to live by, I would tell them to trust God fully to have a happy life. It's a really hard concept to submit to and one we all resist in many ways our whole life but it's so important. So many difficult things that happened to me in my life have happened to bring me to a new and much better spot than I could have thought possible. Divorce, job changes, relationships beginning or ending, have all made a huge difference in the…

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Today’s Brilliance from Dane Pavlik

I became a church Altar Server at age nine and was occasionally paired to serve with a young man with Down's Syndrome. I was nervous at first because he was "different". I learned at that young age that what made him different was his honesty, sincerity, lack of hypocrisy and his smile came from the heart. I no longer feared altar serving with him but looked forward to it. I've been privileged to be counselor at a camp where children and adults with mental and physical disabilities have a summer they will never forget, and I won't either. Each counselor…

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Kindness: The Core of 12 Religions

Kindness matters. In fact, it may be the only thing that really does. In today's world, kindness is one of the things we appreciate most, yet it oft time remains one of our least shared attributes. We buy books about sharing random acts of kindness, yet cut someone off in traffic. We are kind with our friends, yet quick tempered with strangers. We say nice things to one another, yet gossip behind someone else's back. We've learned to compartmentalize our kindness rather than make it a way of life. The vast majority of us believe in God and follow one…

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Osama bin Laden Dead: Reflections on Celebration

Last night President Obama announced that Osama bin Laden had been killed in a US military operation in Pakistan. Within minutes, we watched as America celebrated. While part of me was relieved that the head of the snake known as Al Qaeda had been chopped off, part of me felt a sadness at our revelry. Don't get me wrong- I was happy to hear that bin Laden could no longer spread his hate for America. I love this country and I've spent a good deal of my time/resources supporting our troops, even creating and delivering the World's Longest Letter of…

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The Only Road to Travel is Love

There are two things we typically don't talk about- politics and religion. Yesterday I received an email from a friend out of the blue, telling me in a harsh way that unless I adopt the same religious beliefs he has, I'll never be happy. Funny thing is, I haven't talked with this friend in months, and even more interesting- I am happy! Because his chosen religion has brought joy to his life, his way of loving others is now sharing these beliefs with them. His religion teaches him that it's his job to reach out and convert others to his…

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