July 2010 | Insight For Living Canada

INSIGHTS MAGAZINE CANADA

Handling Adversity

by Chuck Swindoll

Step into the time tunnel with me and let's travel together back to Uz (not like the wizard of, but like the land of). Wherever it was, Uz had a citizen who had the respect of everyone, since he was blameless, upright, God fearing, and clean living. He had 10 children, lots of livestock, plenty of land, a roomful of servants, and a substantial stack of cash. No one would deny that he was “the greatest of all the men of the East,” for he had earned that reputation through years of hard work and honest dealings with others.

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Everybody's Got Stuff

by Steve Johnson

Imagine if you will, coming into this life and being given a backpack to carry. From the day we are born to the day we die, we'll lug it along. Our backpack comes with some items prepacked. They are there courtesy of our all-wise, all-knowing, and all-loving God. Our family of origin, genetic makeup, physical appearance, personality, and our talents are some of the things He predetermines.

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Suffering in Silence

by Robyn Roste

I'm starting to suspect my friends are no longer capable of eating regular food. It all started innocently enough with me deciding to host a girly dinner party. Everyone seemed excited. That is, until I sent a group text around to the girls with my menu suggestions. “Hey guys, what do you think about _____________? It sounds really tasty and I think my cooking skills are up to the challenge.” Quickly, I received a flood of naysayers with answers like: I'm allergic, I'm intolerant, I'm vegetarian. Etcetera.

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Through it All

by Deb Lowell

Though majestic mountains and gorgeous ocean beaches surround us, their beauty is often lost or forgotten amid the mist and sullen grey skies of the rainy season. During the winter and spring months we can go for days, even weeks, without seeing any sign of sun. We look to the heavens in anticipation. We yearn for blue sky—for warming rays upon our saturated bodies, and we feel justifiably deprived without them. It recently occurred to me that this is not unlike my faith journey.

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Welcome to Whine Country

by Phil Callaway

I am a chronic complainer. I grumble. I gripe. I have grievances. Sometimes my whining gets on my wife's nerves. She says, “You should quit whining, Phil.” But I tell her, “I don't like your tone of voice, Sweetie, it's beginning to bother me.” I hate to admit it, but I have won the Wimbledon of Whining and the Grand Slam of Bellyaching all in the same week. These are the things I have found myself complaining about lately:

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The 10-90 Rule of Life

by Ben Lowell

Who of us has not experienced the intense weight of suffering, whether it is physical, emotional, psychological, or spiritual? I've heard it described as a pressing down, a heavy weight on one's chest, intense anxiety, even trudging through thick mud exhausted with the prospect of moving even one step further. Suffering can be overwhelming and oppressive. The burden you carry may not even be your own. Empathetic or sympathetic concern for the suffering of others can be as oppressive as any distress we might experience personally.