With constant distraction at our fingertips, our routines around work can add up to days filled with...
Guest Dr. Saundra Dalton Smith tells us about seven different types of rest and how God helped her recover from burnout.
Given the right hermeneutics, Song of Songs is a book about work and starting a business.
Denise Daniels provides a theological framework for work, as well as tips for when work feels like toil.
She was my age, and also a nurse. ...
About 10 years ago, I had the most amazing job. I was the Director of Adult Ministries at a large suburban church...
Being in over our heads sends us into learning mode whether we like it or not.
Have you ever traveled on a plane? Air travel makes it possible, in a matter of a...
Being outdoors puts me in my place. It centers me. More importantly, however, being outdoors recenters God, my Creator, in my life.
Whenever we place an agenda over the kingdom, we have lost our focus.
Most people complain about their morning commute, but not Lindsey. She has learned to love it, and you can too.
Groomed by my hard-working Dad, who awakened us early on Saturday mornings to “work while the day is light,” I fully embrace...
Being a great employee is important to me, but my greatest ministry is to my family.
“Your wants interfere with my wants.” This is not merely a sentiment of the selfish but a reality behind most decisions, at...
Heroic work can lead to burnout. Ryan Keith, founder and president of Forgotten Voices, had to discover sustainability the hard way.
What does it look like to live as if everything, including our work, depends on God?
Attorney Susan DiMickele says we need to remember God is with us, even when we feel overwhelmed.
I am what is called a “necessity entrepreneur.” This is a nice phrase for people who started a business after losing their...
Lisa did not enjoy her work. She should—it involved many of the things she liked to do. But just … no joy. Meanwhile, jobs were scarce, and she knew she should be grateful...
In 2003, Hong Kong had an outbreak of SARS—a severe and sometimes deadly form of viral pneumonia. No doubt you read about it. So what saved Hong Kong’s health? One dramatic step made...
A few years ago a popular Christian publication asked me to write an article based on data they obtained from another Christian...
When my childhood friend returned home from vacation, I’d run to her house and ask about the trip. She hiked in the mountains and slept in a tent and fell asleep to night...
A few years ago, an acquaintance heard me say that I never take formal vacations and butted in, “Well, you should. And...
We are not on vacation. It's the last day of spring and my husband's off from work. The sky is pale blue...
A mother, in middle age, sat with her teenage son, bouncing along, shoulder to shoulder. I wondered if I would grow into...
We need refreshment. We need our souls restored. We need times of quiet.
Life is demanding, but the clock does not slow or stop. To give the most time to what is most precious—our close relationships—is the heartbeat and the power in the high calling of...
Of the Ten Commandments, the longest commandment is the one that begins, "Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy."
From 1916 to 1939, Justice Louis Brandeis sat on the U.S. Supreme Court. Once, right before the start of an important trial, Justice Brandeis took a short vacation—and drew heavy criticism for it....
In one of their concert grand pianos, 243 taut strings exert a pull of 40,000 pounds. Theodore Steinway offers proof that out...
In 1960, a six-year-old named Ruby Bridges integrated New Orleans' public schools. Every morning, through screaming crowds, federal marshals escorted little Ruby to a school now boycotted by whites...
If we want to find time with our families, we have to make it happen.
Glenn is a master carpenter. I've seen him salvage the wood from a dilapidated pig shed—abandoned for years—and use that lumber to panel a room and finish off a closet. Glenn merely pried...
When the national economy plunged, so did Brian’s local business. He shifted his secretary to part-time and began to look at cheaper office space. He hated how that made him feel. ...
I start with the usual, the question that opens up her world. ...
Celebrities don't make the biggest impact on our lives—the people close to us do.
I like to be busy and I like to brag that I am busy. But this is not cool.
To stressed-out moms, the end of summer means a return to routine (yay!). For teachers, the end of summer = returning to...
My wife Maile and I looked at each other. She laughed nervously. ...
Kohler, Wisconsin, is known for its luxury hotels, upscale restaurants, gardens, art museums, and a stunning lakeside golf course. How interesting, then, that this village was built for immigrant...
“What would you boys think if we started having family meetings every Sunday night?” ...
As a pastor, I have tried to help members of our congregation to live less chaotic lives. In the past, I’ve talked...
Last week, I met Brittany Williams, writer for the LLYC Alumni blog, and her mom, son, and husband at Laity Lodge's Family Camp. We were next-door neighbors at one of the lodges on...
While planning our family’s first real-deal, official vacation, I came across the following statistic: ...
Sometimes the sacrifices we need to make are the ones that build a firm foundation for our families.
Sometimes we feel like compartmentalizing is the only way we can keep ourselves sane. Stress from work can spill over into every part of our lives, and it can be tough to keep...
I’m sitting in the first part of a day-and-a-half meeting, one I was shoehorned into at the last minute. To attend this...
The calendar winds down and I stand on the brink of a new month—swept up in the afterbreeze of these fast-moving days...
The morning has been a flurry of packing bags, counting underwear, finding missing shoes, choosing snacks, trying to pick up the living...
When I first read Ann Kroeker’s book, Not So Fast: Slow-Down Solutions for Frenzied Families, I was single. It seemed counterintuitive to...
...
On Maundy Thursday our son is scheduled for surgery—nothing too serious, but rather intricate and we will be at the hospital all...
Here at The High Calling, we often say that vocation is about more than just a job. This means, for better or...
Years ago, I worked for the government as a staff attorney. I trudged in and out every day with my lunch box in hand like a hamster on a sterile, metal wheel. It...
At first, after decades of dressing in business attire and commuting to a corporate office, staying at home felt strange.
Jeffrey Wright demonstrates the laws of physics for his students all year, doing crazy experiments with cinderblocks and sledgehammers, but once a...
”This is the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.” (Ps. 118:24) ...
Dear Kevin, ...
Certainly, we experience the love of God through suffering, pain, and loss—but what about when we are the ones who have caused...
Recently, the High Calling spoke with attorney Dwaine Massey about cultivating character in his children by modeling it through words and actions.
During the workweek, my husband fills his travel mug and thermos with coffee, climbs into his Honda, and cranks up K-LOVE for a 50-minute commute from the suburbs to the city center, where...
The way Miska and I split up duties during the school year, in the mornings, I’m the chief cook, bottlewasher and part-time priest. I bag lunches, whip up eggs with toast and, most...
Some mornings I wake up staring mindlessly at the wall. Those mornings, I don’t want to get up. ...
In 2010, Haiti was devastated by an earthquake, resulting in one of the western hemisphere’s greatest natural disasters of our lifetime. The nonprofit organization I work for responded immediately...
The biggest mistakes I make in trying to balance leadership responsibilities and my family responsibilities usually come when I've been given too...
Becca worked from home, and her friends envied her. “No commute!” they’d say. And while no commute was great, Becca knew the flip side: no climbing in the car to get away from...
They called it Lin-sanity: the crazy rise of a human meteor also known as Jeremy Lin. Early in the 2012 basketball season, for example, Lin popped a last-second—tie-breaking—three-pointer...to beat...
When I say “Charles Schulz”—you picture the creator of the Peanuts comic strip. For decades, this gentle cartoonist brightened lives with his wit and wisdom. ...
Transcript Sharon kept a lot on her plate…and she kept a lot of plates in the air. She headed two project teams. She served on another. She belonged to professional organizations…and was chasing...
Transcript Keith Fitzhugh gets a call from the New York Jets to play receiver—and he turns it down. But why? Keith’s answer has been all over the news: he turned down pro football...
Scott was known at the office for his work at church. Just one thing: he sometimes played his “religious” card to get out of work at the office. ...
Transcript Fifty-three hours . . . by anyone’s standards, that’s a long, hard workweek. So are you sitting down? Fifty-three hours is the amount of time each week that the average American young...
What’s in a dream? Consider Elias Howe—the sewing machine pioneer. In his original model, his needle had an eye in the middle. And it didn’t work. One night, Howe dreamed he was under...
An associate of mine recently witnessed an all-too-common scene: four people at a restaurant table, deep in conversation . . . on four different cell phones. Think of it! Good friends finally...
Naaman, a top general of the Syrian king, went to Israel seeking a cure for his leprosy. The prophet Elisha told him to bathe seven times in the Jordan River. And God cured him!
Wendy was unhappy in her marriage and thinking about divorce. "The Bible says, 'To thine own self be true,' " she told her friend Judy. "Besides, God helps those who help themselves.""Wendy, I...
In an age dominated by men waging wars and destruction, Sheerah built cities.
When a downtrodden Nathan told his wife Sophia he had been fired from his job, she was elated. She cried: "Now, you can write your book!"
In the 1972 Olympics, after one lap in the 800-meter run, Dave Wottle, in his white cap, was in last place. His extraordinary comeback to win the gold medal is one of the...
Remember the parable of the bad servant who spent too many hours at the office and the good servant who had a flexible work-from-home arrangement so he could spend more time with family?
Don't take life TOO seriously. Frequent doses of realism—plus laughter—equal balance in the high calling of our daily work.
Oberlin College once gave an honorary doctorate to Theodore Steinway—president of the company that crafted the world’s most prestigious pianos.The tribute said...
People tend to believe that running a company is serious business. But not Herb Kelleher of Southwest Airlines. The man who led Southwest through 60 consecutive quarters of earnings increases . . ....
Ever hear of James Cash Penney? J. C. Penney originally worked for a two-store chain called "The Golden Rule."
Henri Nouwen was a brilliant Yale professor who left teaching to live and work with handicapped adults. His pace slowed as he learned their simpler ways. He wrote of a growing desire to “simply...
At age 17, high school soccer star Amy Caldwell was her state's player of the year. In fact, she led her high school team to the finals of its state tournament. But suddenly...
In 1915, Winston Churchill was out of the Admiralty and suddenly facing forced leisure. When he found a children’s set of watercolors, he decided to try painting. At first, the large blank page...
In a book review, Lorna Williams quotes Julia Child. "I fell in love with French food—the tastes, the processes, the history, the endless variations, the rigorous discipline, the creativity, the...
"... The worst thing about a loss of faith is not that someone has stopped believing something, but that they are ready to believe anything."
At a summer camp for kids, a boy with one arm struggled to paddle his canoe until, frustrated, he pitched the paddle into the lake. ...
A young lady once spent an evening at dinner with a world-famous politician. The following evening she dined with an international diplomat. Later she was asked what impressions these two...
The man who headed New York's Salvation Army during its time of selfless service at Ground Zero began life predictably. Predictably bad. Joe Noland's alcoholic father lived at the bar. His...
In ancient times, a king had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid to see if anyone would remove it. Many people came by and managed to squeeze around it. ...
In an African jungle, at the local watering hole, a tiger approached the lion. The tiger asked: "Why do you roar like a fool?" The lion laughed and said, "My roaring isn't foolish...
Lilli Palmer grew up in Germany with a mother who did not fear other people's opinions. When Lilli came home crying that another child did not like her, Lilli’s mother would say, "Everybody’s.....
Ever hear of Jimmy Durante? The comedian with the big nose? One night, in a foul mood, the famous funnyman tried to cancel a dinner engagement. But his hosts said the lamb chops...
Author and educator John Erskine was 14 when his piano teacher asked him if he practiced an hour at a time. John said yes. His teacher said, "Well, don’t! When you grow up...
A lion and a cougar arrived at a water hole at the same time. They began to argue about who should drink first. The argument grew heated, and each decided he would rather...
Dr. Grace Terrell's patient called with an unusual problem: her EKG that day had ruined her vision. But wait . . . heart exams don't hurt eyesight. Suppressing her amusement, Dr. Terrell...
Business pages headline business mistakes. But just as noteworthy is how people recover from them. Pearl S. Buck once wrote, “Every great mistake has a halfway moment, a split second when it can...
The Peanuts comic strip was deceptively simple and always entertaining. It was also the creation of Charles Schulz, a family man. When asked where he got his ideas, Schulz admitted that some of...
Vince Lombardi was a football coach who led his Green Bay Packers to five NFL Championships. He was a stern disciplinarian who hated to lose. Sometime in the 1960s, after a hard-fought victory,...
Mason, Texas, is the home of the late Fred Gipson, author of Old Yeller. In fact, at the entrance to the library in Mason stands a statue of Old Yeller and the boy...
After weeks of research, Nick bought an expensive new software package for his small business. All night he pored over the manual. The next morning, he called a staff meeting and began to lecture...
Two boys are in a psychological study. One is a pessimist and one an optimist. The pessimist is put into a room full of toys; the optimist, a room full of manure. The...
For Alexander Hill, “the foundation of Christian ethics in business is the changeless character of God.”[22] The commands or principles that humans should follow are defined by the character of God. Note that...
Faith & Co.: Banking on Hope How does the gospel change a bank’s view of people and how they should be treated, especially those of modest means? Inspired by faith that sees the...
Not all accumulation of wealth is a result of injustice. However, even when wealth is gained through legitimate means, it still has...
Learning to trust God for our provision is an ongoing challenge, particularly if we are prone to compulsive work habits. Gordon MacDonald...
Learn from the Bible whether healthy rhythms of work, rest and play are possible.
Many lawyers struggle with having a good work and life balance. Clients can be demanding and there can be strict deadlines that need to be met, which are usually urgent. Often this means...
Navigate the modern challenge of balancing work responsibilities with life's other pursuits.
.jpg)
