Blog Posts

  • HEAVEN: No Eye Has Seen, No Ear Has Heard…
    Transformations by Lisa Coleman HGTV has created a successful business of sensationalizing home renovations.  There is a sense of instant gratification and wonder to see the broken down and shabby transformed into functional and beautiful.  It is especially nice to watch others do all the hard work!  We can see this same principle in personal makeovers, home/office organization, and even major life changes involving jobs and relocations.  Who doesn’t love a good do-over? If we think about it, we can rewind back several centuries and ponder much grander transformations from inventors that yielded ideas and tools that continue to impact… Read more: HEAVEN: No Eye Has Seen, No Ear Has Heard…
  • Easter Perspective: Seeing, Recognizing, and Realizing Its True Significance
    Easter Perspective: Seeing, Recognizing, and Realizing The celebration of Easter has, for many people, become much more of a secular celebration of candy, bunnies, and fancy dresses than a holy observance and remembrance of what Jesus has done for us. The way we view Easter is truly a matter of perspective—are we seeing it as one thing or are we recognizing the true significance of the day and realizing its benefits. To illustrate this point, think back to the first time you saw a QR code. Even though they seem to be everywhere now, the first time you saw one you… Read more: Easter Perspective: Seeing, Recognizing, and Realizing Its True Significance
  • Heaven-Influenced Living
    Heaven-Influenced Living by Lisa Coleman Believe it or not, a large number of people have chosen to be reminded five times a day via a smartphone app that they are going to die. The app, called WeCroak, has more than 10,000 downloads and there are 30,000 monthly users. More than 25 million reminders are sent annually. Most of the messages are simply “Don’t forget, you’re going to die.” Others are equally as somber, “The grave has no sunny corners” and “Those who are afraid of death will carry it on their shoulders.” The messages are sent “at random times and… Read more: Heaven-Influenced Living
  • Is This Heaven??? – From:Fido
    Is This Heaven??? – From:Fido by Lisa Coleman The question on many Christian animal lover’s minds is ‘Will I see my pet again in heaven?’  When our beloved animals die, we are left with this fuzzy understanding about where they are.  Do they just cease to exist?  Can we expect or at least have great hope that we will see them again on the New Earth? Anyone who has lost a furry companion knows how deeply we can grieve over their death.  Our pets have a special place in our hearts.  They don’t judge or discriminate.  I would add talk… Read more: Is This Heaven??? – From:Fido
  • Relationships on the New Earth
    Relationships on the New Earth by Lisa Coleman This week we will be discussing an aspect of Heaven that we all wonder about at some point and in most cases, have very tender feelings over.  Who will we know (besides Jesus of course!) in Heaven?  The Churchy answer is ‘it won’t matter because…” but in reality, we have great love for those we have traveled this hard journey with down here.  Do we just start all over when we get there? Moving into a new city, state, or country can be both exciting and stress-inducing.  What is it like?  Will… Read more: Relationships on the New Earth
  • The Family Business: Ruling & Reigning
    The Family Business by Lisa Coleman   Many of you have had experiences with family businesses.  If we could only sit down and share the highs and lows of the triumphs and trials!  Statistics say that for most family businesses, transfer to the second generation is difficult at best and most third generation attempts fail.  Families fracture under the emotion and strain of attempts to navigate these often volatile yet fragile entities. One notable family business was Stucky’s.  It was sold to larger corporations and allowed to deteriorate. It is rare that a family gets their company back and revives… Read more: The Family Business: Ruling & Reigning
  • Wide-Eyed Wonder on the New Earth
    Wide-Eyed Wonder How many of you have seen a look like the one above on the face of your children or grandchildren recently?  As you may know, Tina and I have 6 grandsons, and 4 of them are 2-5 years old.  They are so filled with wonder at times that the expressions on their faces can be priceless.  Such was the case recently with Gavin, our daughter’s youngest son.  I will never forget it; oh, what I would give to have a picture of it.  Truly, it was priceless. Our son-in-law recently celebrated his 40th birthday and we were in… Read more: Wide-Eyed Wonder on the New Earth
  • There’s No Place Like Home
    There’s No Place Like Home by Lisa Coleman  Whether Perry Como’s Home for the Holidays or for Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, home is a warm, fuzzy word that has only grown in our hearts as we get older.  We can spend a great deal of time and money on home.  There are entire industries devoted to home: home builders, home improvement stores, TV shows and networks dedicated to all things home.  We revere our childhood homes with tenderness and often tweak our current homes for the joys of grandchildren.  It is our refuge when our worlds seem to… Read more: There’s No Place Like Home
  • The Grand Unveiling in Heaven
    The Grand Unveiling in Heaven As most of you know, Tina and I have been building a lake home for more than a year now.  And while we moved in the last couple of weeks, the home is still not quite finished.  We are still missing built-in bunk beds in the “Boys Room,” and cabinets in my office/study.  We’re anxious to have things fully settled so we can welcome family and friends and enjoy the new space.  “Two more weeks,” says the builder.  I’m not holding my breath… Building a new home involves a lot of work and requires great… Read more: The Grand Unveiling in Heaven
  • Under the Ruin, a Masterpiece Remains
    Under the Ruin, a Masterpiece Remains by Lisa Coleman When we think of restoration today, our minds can quickly move to home renovations.  It is fascinating to see an old dilapidated, derelict structure be revived to useful life through a long and costly process of tearing out, breaking down, and removal.  It takes months if not years for some projects.  The reveals are stunning and often border on disbelief that something so broken could be made so beautiful.  And valuable yet again! The story of Raphael’s masterpiece is even more unbelievable. In November of 2008 one of the greatest masterpieces… Read more: Under the Ruin, a Masterpiece Remains
  • The Resurrected Life: Well Done
    The Resurrected Life: Well Done by Lisa Coleman Don’t you love stories about ordinary people showing great kindness towards others?  It is especially heartwarming when it is a pure deed without regard for reward or gain. I read about two deputies who found an elderly woman in a wheelchair in the middle of a road.  The battery had died in her electric wheelchair.  When they realized they couldn’t fit it inside their cruiser, they pushed her chair the mile long journey home. Another example of extending ourselves for others is from 20-year-old Jordan Taylor.  He was stocking bottles of orange… Read more: The Resurrected Life: Well Done
  • Putting It Back Together
    Putting It Back Together by Lisa Coleman Filmed over nearly three years, PBS’s Waste Land follows renowned artist Vik Muniz as he journeys from his home base in Brooklyn to his native Brazil and the world’s largest garbage dump, Jardim Gramacho, located on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro.  There he photographs an eclectic band of catadores – or garbage pickers.  The catadores are the ultimate marginalized population; unemployed in any traditional sense of the word, they resort to picking valuable recyclable materials from the garbage thrown away by those in Brazil more fortunate than themselves. Vik Muniz, a Brazilian… Read more: Putting It Back Together
  • Beauty is a Signpost to God’s Truth
    Beauty Is a Signpost to God’s Truth by Lisa Coleman One day, rummaging through a dusty old attic in a small Austrian town, a collector comes across a faded manuscript containing many pages of music. It’s written for the piano. Curious, he takes it to a dealer. The dealer phones a friend who appears a half hour later. When he sees the music, he becomes excited, then puzzled. This looks like the handwriting of Mozart himself. But it isn’t a well-known piece. In fact, he’s never heard it before. More phone calls. More excitement. More consultations. It really does seem… Read more: Beauty is a Signpost to God’s Truth
  • Earth’s Redemption
    Transformations by Lisa Coleman HGTV has created a successful business of sensationalizing home renovations.  There is a sense of instant gratification and wonder to see the broken down and shabby transformed into functional and beautiful.  It is especially nice to watch others do all the hard work!  We can see this same principle in personal makeovers, home/office organization, and even major life changes involving jobs and relocations.  Who doesn’t love a good do-over? If we think about it, we can rewind back several centuries and ponder much grander transformations from inventors that yielded ideas and tools that continue to impact… Read more: Earth’s Redemption
  • Point Me Home
    Point Me Home by Lisa Coleman There’s a Signpost Forest just outside of Watson Lake, Yukon. It was started in 1942 when a soldier named Carl K. Lindley was injured while working on the Alcan Highway. He was taken to the Army air station in Watson Lake to recuperate. In those days a simple signpost pointed out the distances to various points along the highway. One of the signposts was damaged by a bulldozer. Lindley was ordered to repair the sign and decided to personalize the job by adding a sign pointing towards his hometown, Danville, Illinois, and giving the… Read more: Point Me Home
  • We Do Not Journey Alone
    We Do Not Journey Alone by Lisa Coleman Remember the Rocky movies about a poor Italian American from the slums of Philly?  He is portrayed as overcoming obstacles in his life.  In the book Healing the Masculine Soul, Gordon Dalbey says that when Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as the Helper, he uses a Greek word, paraclete, that was an ancient warrior’s term. “Greek soldiers went into battle in pairs,” says Dalbey, “so when the enemy attacked, they could draw together back-to-back, covering each other’s blindside. One’s battle partner was the paraclete.” Our Lord does not send us to… Read more: We Do Not Journey Alone
  • Earnest Money Deposit
    Some of you like me and Tina, have recently sold your home, taking advantage of the hot real estate market in Nashville.  If so, you likely accepted an earnest money deposit along with the real estate contract.  In some ways, you might call it a down payment on the future purchase of your home. It can be an exciting thing to have that contract in your hands, along with the earnest money.  You look forward, with eager anticipation, to the closing date when the contract will be consummated and the transaction complete.  In some cases, you hold your breath until… Read more: Earnest Money Deposit
  • Leadership Lessons from Nehemiah
    Leadership Lessons from Nehemiah See the need (2:3): “Why should my face not look sad when the city where my fathers are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?” Set the vision (2:5): “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it.” Solicit support of key leaders (2:7-8): “If it pleases the king, may I have letters to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, so that they will provide me safe-conduct… Read more: Leadership Lessons from Nehemiah
  • Unwavering Devotion
    Devoted Discipleshipby Lisa Coleman I would guess that a few of you have or have had a device, most recently smart watches although small navigation gadgets have been around quite some time, that tracks your walk, ride or run. My husband Clif would come in from a long bike ride in west Texas and gleefully (my word!) upload his Garmin, that was mounted on the handlebar of his bicycle, into the computer. He would then study the route he took, the miles he rode, calories burned and reminisce I suppose. The information it yielded told a story, his story for… Read more: Unwavering Devotion
  • Unified Discipleship
    Unified Discipleshipby Lisa Coleman Have you ever taken ‘one for the team’? To answer that, we have to consider if we’ve ever been on a team. I did not come from a family of athletes. But I have been and continue to be on teams. You have too! While it is much more fantastical hearing about gifted athletes saving the day at the last minute by a play that ultimately injured them but won the game, there are quiet acts of sacrificial teamwork happening all around us. We are likely members of a family team, a work team, a friend/neighbor… Read more: Unified Discipleship