Month: March 2017

Amazing Grace?

cs-lewis_at_desk

Many years ago, during a British conference on comparative religions, experts were discussing whether there was any belief that was truly unique to Christianity. Creation, incarnation, and resurrection were quickly eliminated because of similar examples in other religions. C.S. Lewis wandered into the room and enquired as to the topic of conversation. When told about the debate, without hesitation, Lewis replied, “Oh, that’s easy.  It’s grace.”

Grace is so simple that it baffles the experts. Grace is what makes Christianity unique. Because of it, we have the opportunity to know Jesus as Savior and Friend. Grace helps us understand the difference between happiness and joy. It allows us to conquer all of our fears. There is nothing we can do to earn grace and there is no way that we can destroy it. In Ephesian 1:5-6, the Apostle Paul wrote: He predestined us to be adopted through Jesus Christ for Himself, according to His favor and will, to the praise of His glorious grace that He favored us with in the Beloved.  

His grace really is amazing.

 

by Categories: Church and Christian Life, Uncategorized, WorshipTags: , , , , , , 1 Comment

How 2 Rite Good (Or at least better)

Sign - Photo courtesy of Unsplash

Jack Kerouac once said, It ain’t whatcha write, it’s the way atcha write it.

There’s some truth to that statement, no matter if you’re writing a thesis or a thank you note. Here are a few tips to help us all improve our writing:

  1. Lead with your main idea – Let people know your subject upfront. If you don’t, they’ll stop reading.
  2. Good writing is concise. It can certainly be creative, but it should be free of superfluous adjectives and unnecessary details. More is not always better. Sometimes it’s just more. Most often it’s less.
  3. Avoid using the word that as often as possible. Even though that is sometimes useful when adding description, the sentence can most often become more powerful by moving the description to before the noun.
  4. Condense what you’ve written, then condense it again, then do it a third time. This will help your writing be tighter and more interesting.
  5. Use a thesaurus to help you find the perfect word. Mark Twain once said, “The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.”
  6. Overused clichés are as common as dirt. Good writers avoid them like the plague. You get my drift?
  7. Read more and your writing will naturally improve.
  8. Use Spell Check. It’s free and instantly available. Duh.
  9. Write when your emotions are elevated about your cause. You can always go back and edit later. Henry David Thoreau once wrote, Write while the heat is in you… The writer who postpones the recording of his thoughts uses an iron which has cooled to burn a hole with.“
by Categories: Creativity, UncategorizedTags: , , , , Leave a comment