Phillip James Bailey, an English poet of the late 19th century, once said: "Let each man think himself an act of God; his mind a thought; his life, a breath of God; and let each try, by great thoughts and good deeds to show the most of heaven he...
Shakespeare's Hamlet has a character named Polonius and Shakespeare has him utter those now famous words "For the apparel oft proclaims the man." And then, of course, there's the famous business advice "Dress for the job you want, not the job you have!" All this focus on apparel makes...
February is Message Month at Faith Encouraged Ministries. Let us hear from you! "Dear Fr. Barnabas, I just wanted to express my gratitude to you, once again, for everything that you do. For the past three years my wife, son, and I have been learning about the Orthodox Church, and...
"To everything, turn, turn, turn. There is a season, turn, turn, turn. And a time to every purpose under heaven." The Byrds lyrics were taken, of course, from the Book of Ecclesiastes in the First Testament. It is the gift of time, granted to us by God, where our...
"Make your words sweet. After all, you may have to eat them!" Great advice, and perfect for one who is embarking on a spiritual journey of disciplined and purposeful faith. You see, our words are icons of our hearts. That's why paying attention to our words is part of any...
I love the look on my daughter's face when I tell her "You can do what you want to do AFTER you do what you have to do." Training a child (or, for that matter me!) to delay gratification is one of the most important life lessons any parent...
So much conflict today is based on nothing more than finding out that someone agrees with someone else you disagree with! The friend of my enemy is my enemy. But what if all the conflicts in the world could be solved by admitting that the Source of all conflict...
I was sitting right next to it! And then it went off! And I nearly jumped out of my skin. It was an alarm that let you know when someone was "breaking into the house." I didn't realize I was that close when they were going to test it...
Hollywood loves getting it wrong. The more I see of movies about angels or demons or the "supernatural" the more I see just why serious theological wisdom is absolutely vital to clear thinking and wise living. It seems every time a movie about these subjects comes out everything is flat...
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and I can really see that. The other day my daughter had the same reaction and facial expression I have when I'm frustrated. The moment made me smile, then cringe, then pray "Lord, help me be a better example to...
