I’m going to start today with a short joke which has all sorts of interesting metaphorical meanings, most of which probably escape me.  You may have heard this before, and some guy named David Foster Wallace either came up with this or made it popular in a speech he gave. There are two young fish swimming along one day when they pass an older fish.   The older fish nods at them and says, “How’s the water boys?”   The young fish keep swimming along and, after a few minutes, one of them says to the other, “What the heck is water?” One of the joke’s important points is the highlighting of the reality all around us that we don’t even realize.   It’s the reality in which we exist, and we don’t even know it.   It’s such a fundamental aspect of our environment that we take it for granted or don’t even consider its existence at all.   But others understand these aspects of our reality or our environment, and that there are other environments outside of this one we might come to understand

A few years ago I drove down to South Florida to visit some clients for a few days.  My wife (Shannon) suggested that I check out this marriage podcast called Rise Together by Rachel and Dave Hollis.  I realize Rachel Hollis is now a controversial figure, but this was before all that happened, and that podcast had a profound impact on me.  Between the drives to Key Largo and back, I listened to all of the episodes (there were only around 10 back then) and I received my personal introduction to the idea of personal growth.  (And before we move on yes I do realize that was a marriage podcast from a couple who are now divorced.)  So I started listening to various podcasts on personal growth and related issues.   Then about a year ago I was driving with some friends in Texas when we decided to listen to an episode of the All-In Podcast.   That podcast features four billionaires and friends discussing financial markets, political issues, and various other subjects.   I found it fascinatin

Last week we briefly discussed how to begin hearing from God.  I think it’s a great teaching because we cover a list of God’s communication methods, how to tune into God’s frequency, and three safety practices to help you confirm you’ve really heard from Him.  If you didn’t listen to that teaching then please do so, because if you aren’t hearing from God regularly that teaching will help you start, and your life will never be the same. I remember when I first started learning about God and His Ways in my early twenties.   I realized that many people think all sorts of different things about God.   This is true even among Christians, where you can find a wide variety of beliefs even in the same church.   Ironically, this first dawned on me when speaking with my grandfather.   Now Grandaddy was a Christian, but he wasn’t going to let the Bible get in the way of what he believed.   One day I read a Bible verse to him about the power of thankfulness.   He said, “Well, I just don’t beli

You can easily learn to hear from God.  Jesus clearly explained in John 10 that His sheep know His voice.  You can learn to recognize God’s voice and hearing from God will become part of your daily life.    Over the years I have talked a lot about hearing from God because of its importance in my life.   Perhaps this sounds obvious, but I could never overstate the importance of hearing from God.   While this sounds like some sort of mystical or high-spirituality type practice, in fact it should be a part of everyone’s daily life.   Hearing from God should be clear, easy and regular.   We just need to learn how it works. Many people approach spiritual topics such as this with the perspective that it will come by some special revelation or divine interaction.   Perhaps one day you will hear God’s booming voice or you will have some spectacular vision of Jesus talking with you.   But rather than hoping for a miraculous spiritual occurrence, we should simply start studying God’s Word on