Tag Archives: giving

Life Together

Posted on February 21, 2021 by mitchteemley

Have you ever moved, almost without realizing it, from learning about another’s burdens to helping carry them? Indeed, if we don’t share one another’s burdens, are we even truly alive? ~The Wishing Map

Posted in For Pastors and Teachers, Quips and Quotes, Religion/Faith, The Wishing Map | Tagged , , , , , | 9 Comments

My Experiment in Becoming Human

Posted on October 15, 2020 by mitchteemley

Give and You Will Receive Knowing and doing aren’t the same thing. In my last Experiment in Becoming Human, I wrote about ceasing to try and get something from others, and being set free to give. “In quietness and confidence … Continue reading →

Posted in For Pastors and Teachers, Memoir, Quips and Quotes, Religion/Faith | Tagged , , , , , | 29 Comments

Grace Is a Living Stream

Posted on July 12, 2020 by mitchteemley

Grace isn’t a cistern. It’s a living stream. If it doesn’t keep moving– into us and through us into others– it stagnates. It was never meant to be hoarded. ≅

Posted in For Pastors and Teachers, Quips and Quotes, Religion/Faith | Tagged , , , , , , | 16 Comments

More Blessed to Give

Posted on May 5, 2019 by mitchteemley

Dear self: Remember this. And then remember it some more. “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” ~Acts 20:35

Posted in For Pastors and Teachers, Quips and Quotes | Tagged , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Blessed to be a Blessing

Posted on February 10, 2019 by mitchteemley

“It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). But it is also a blessing to learn how to receive. Many of us spend our lives blessing ourselves–striving to make sure all of our own needs (real and … Continue reading →

Posted in For Pastors and Teachers, Quips and Quotes, Religion/Faith | Tagged , , , , , , | 20 Comments

The Spirit of Christmas

Posted on December 25, 2018 by mitchteemley

May the spirit of Christmas the yearning to give inhabit your heart for as long as you live “Freely you have received. Freely give.” ~Matthew 10:8

Posted in For Pastors and Teachers, Quips and Quotes, Religion/Faith | Tagged , , , , , , | 33 Comments

No Santa Claus?

Posted on December 8, 2018 by mitchteemley

I was six when my parents told me there was no Santa Claus: My response (according to my mom) was, “Whew! You finally know?  I’ve known for a long time, but I wasn’t sure you did, and I didn’t want … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, For Pastors and Teachers, Humor, Memoir | Tagged , , , , , | 17 Comments

Complete

Posted on December 4, 2018 by mitchteemley

Here’s the paradox in Jesus’ teaching: What I want I must give. But I don’t have it to give because I am incomplete. Remember? So what must I do? I must let him invade me, must let him live in … Continue reading →

Posted in For Pastors and Teachers, Poetry, Quips and Quotes, Religion/Faith | Tagged , , , , , | 14 Comments

Person to Person

Posted on September 16, 2017 by mitchteemley

How often do we get stuck on numbers (I know I do), thinking that unless we can sweep across the land like good deed crop dusters, eradicating all pain and suffering (or ignorance, or violence, or?) there is no point … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, For Pastors and Teachers, Quips and Quotes | Tagged , , , , , , | 17 Comments

A Different Kind of Flood

Posted on August 31, 2017 by mitchteemley

Hurricane Harvey (or Tropical Storm Harvey, now that it’s made landfall) is being called a Storm of the Century. It has destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes in the Gulf of Mexico, has been called the worst disaster in Texas … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, For Pastors and Teachers, Quips and Quotes | Tagged , , , , , , | 29 Comments