Morning Briefings

Do you not say, ‘four more months and then the harvest?’ I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe and ready for the harvest.

– John 4:35

There is a big difference between an image and a reputation. An image is usually short term and can be an illusion. Public images are often fabricated and untrue. A reputation is what you actually are (both good and bad) and is built on a foundation of truth.

– Mike Paul, Top Ten Reputation Management Tips from
Reputation Doctor blog

As St. Ignatius of Loyola would say, ‘The longest journey you’ll ever take is from your head to your heart.’

– Subscriber and Mentor to the Morning Briefing editor,
Myrna Larson

For twenty centuries she has been called blessed by people in all walks of life: intellectuals, illiterates, kings, warriors, tradesmen, men and women, infants and elderly: Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women.

– Francis Fernandez
In Conversation with God

Take care and be earnestly on your guard not to forget the things which your own eyes have seen, nor let them slip from your memory as long as you live, but teach them to your children, and your children’s children.

– Deuteronomy 4:9

In the case of Mr. Tebow, what seems to fuel many of his fans–and to drive many of his critics crazy–is not so much his evangelical faith itself but the equanimity and generosity that his faith inspires in him. Can he really mean it when he says that football isn’t that important to him, that he cares more about transcendent things?

– Patton Dodd, The Wall Street Journal
God’s Quarterback: The Tim Tebow Phenomenon

Jesus didn’t even ask his disciples not to abandon him–he proved to them they couldn’t.

– Hugh Prather
Spiritual Notes to Myself

Someone has said that the greatest sin is to make God unattractive. Unfortunately, we can do this not only by the words we preach but more so by our very demeanor. Today we ask ourselves, ‘How approachable and kind am I to the people I live with, work with, serve or meet on the street? Do I reflect the amiable God I believe in?’

– Sr. Melannie Svoboda, S.N.D.
Living Faith

He [John the Baptist] was preparing for accepting that even he, with Jerusalem at this feet, was dispensable. Handing over a job is not dying. It is the start of a new phase of living.

– Sacred Space

Among a younger generation of Christians in business, working as financial analysts and engineers is itself Christian service. Their mindset is captured by Dave Evans, co-founder of the videogame giant Electronic Arts. Mr. Evans talks more like a theologian than a former Apple engineer. He points out that Genesis says that humans were created in the image of God, so all of our work—not just church work—is holy. We are called to be co-creators, with God, of a flourishing life on Earth.

– Rob Moll
Doing God’s Work—At the Office, The Wall Street Journal