“But with God and three pennies, I can do anything.”- Mother Teresa Shortly after Mother Teresa took her vows, she shared her vision, her what if, with her mother superiors. She told them she had three pennies and a dream from God to build an orphanage. Displaying narrow framing, Mother Teresa’s superiors told her three […]
“One dimension of spiritual growth is being reconditioned by the grace of God.”- Mark Batterson “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son.”- Romans 8:29 Mark Batterson writes in Chapter 23 (“The Pavlovian Effect”) of If that “it’s much easier to act like a Christian than to […]
“God has made some bold predictions about you- they’re called promises.”- Mark Batterson In Chapter 22 (“Bold Predictions”) of If, Mark Batterson highlights the fact that what if starts with bold predictions. Yet, dreams lacking deadlines often turn into if only regrets. And if you are big enough to accomplish your dream, your dream isn’t […]
“The 8:28 guarantee is this: God will use even the worst things that happen for your ultimate good and His eternal glory.”- Mark Batterson Mark Batterson concludes Chapter 22 of If by stating that Nantucket Nectar changed his life. It wasn’t drinking the beverage itself, but the saying inside one of the bottle caps: “If […]
Mark Batterson continues his discussion of Romans 8:28 in Chapter 21 of If by referring to that verse as Scripture’s Rosetta Stone: “The twenty-eighth verse of the eighth chapter of Romans is the Rosetta stone of Scripture. Without it, much of life makes no sense whatsoever. With it, we’re able to decipher our experiences.” In […]
Mark Batterson expounds on Harvard professor Robert K Merton’s(1936) groundbreaking thesis on the “law of unintended consequences” in Chapter 20 (The Kingdom of Unintended Consequences”) of If. Pastor Batterson explains that “the outcome of our actions have unintended consequences that are beyond our ability to control, beyond our ability to predict.” These unforeseen consequences fall […]
“But don’t despise the day of small beginnings. If you do little things like they’re big things, someday God will do big things like they’re little things.”- Mark Batterson “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.”- […]
“Knowledge, by itself, often leads to one-dimensional assumptions. But wisdom, true wisdom, leads to two-dimensional understanding.”- Mark Batterson “True wisdom has two sides.”- Job 11:6 As Mark Batterson concludes Chapter 18 of If, he asserts that two-dimensional thinking is thinking outside the four dimensions of space-time within which we exist. Pastor Batterson writes that the […]
“One of the archenemies of what if is narrow framing.”- Mark Batterson Mark Batterson discusses the concept of narrow farming in Chapter 18 of If. Pastor Batterson defines narrow framing as a decision-making villain characterized by: ” . . . defining our choices too narrowly. It’s only considering two options when there might be a […]
“Waste of energy, mental distress, nervous worries, dog the steps of a man who is anxious about the future- cultivate the habit of living in day-tight compartments knowing that successful daily living starts early.”- Sir William Osler (1849-1919) “Our main business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what […]
“Fearlessness is like a muscle. I know from my own life that the more I exercise it the more natural it becomes to not let my fears run me.”- Arianna Huffington “Feed your fears, and your faith will starve. Feed your faith, and your fears will.”- Max Lucado “Be strong and let your heart take […]
“But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.”- Romans 8:25 Twenty-five years ago Richard Thaler, a professor of behavioral science and economics at the University of Chicago, posed a simple question: “Would you prefer one apple in one year or two apples in one year and one […]