Luana Ehrlich's Blog, page 10

Don’t Put Up With It!

[image error]For years, I’ve used a decorative paper towel holder in my kitchen. It looked nice; matched my kitchen theme—roosters—and held my roll of paper towels within arm’s reach.

There was one problem with the holder.  It was made for an earlier time, when a roll of paper towels wasn’t as thick as it is today. That meant every time a new roll was placed on the horizontal pole, I had to use one hand to grab a towel and the other to pull it away from the roll and tear it off.

This was frustrating, beca...

The Author Who Had No Platform

[image error]One of the most important concepts in the publishing industry today is “The Platform.” You may not know what that is, but think for a moment about people who’ve recently released a book—people like Bill O’Reilly, Alec Baldwin, and Megyn Kelly. These authors have a built-in platform. The mere suggestion they might write a book has readers signed up to buy a copy before it’s even been written.

That’s a platform.

Publishers and literary agents will ask a potential author, “What’s your platform?”...

What’s The Right Way To Read The Bible?

[image error] What’s the rightway to read the Bible this year? You’ll find the answer in the Bible!

David, speaking in Psalm 16:11, says, “You make known to MEthe paths of life.”David has a personal relationship with God. While it’s true the Bible has a message for all people, God intends for that message tobe understood and received by eachindividual personally.

I read through the Bible every year, and I’ve used a variety of Bible Reading Plans to do this, but no matter which method I use, I try to make i...

An Indescribable Gift!

[image error]Every year, I give what Icall my “Reason for the Season” gift.

It’s a present to remindeach recipient of why we celebrate Christmas in the first place. My “Reason for the Season” gifts are never very elaborate. Mostof them aresimply stocking stuffersand cost very little.

Thesegifts can beassimple as a bookmark with a Scripture on it or a key chain with a Christian symbol swinging from it. During past Christmases,I’ve given a calendar or a devotional book. For children, I’ve put Veggie Tale to...

Seen Any Good Movies Lately?

When I watch a movie, I’m intrigued by how the story unfolds, how the writer has pulled the threads of the plot together to get to a satisfactory—and sometimes unsatisfactory—ending. Of lesser importance to me are the specifics surrounding the actors’ ability to nuance the characters in the movie. Perhaps of least importance to me is the technique behind the camera shots or the way in which the director chooses to film the action in the movie.

However, my husband is not that interested in th...

Life Out of Focus?

One of the great things about most cameras today isthe automatic focusing feature. I’m old enough to remember using a camera that required fiddling with a bunch of dials before snapping the picture. Most of the time, those waiting to be photographed weren’t very patient about this process, and, oftentimes, after all that effort, the photo turned out to be out of focus after all.

As children of God, itwould be nice to have this automatic focusing mechanism built into our daily lives, so that t...

Such Useless Things

The other dayI was standing beside an elevator, having justpushed the Arrow Down buttonto call theelevator up to the second floor, when an elderly gentleman walked over and pushed the same button again. Then, he turned to me and said, “I know that was useless. The elevator won’t get here any sooner just because two people pushit.”

At the grocery store, a little later that day, I tried to sign my name on a credit card scanner. After several attempts to make a semi-legible mark, the clerk waved...

Me jealous?

As believers, we sing of God’s amazing grace, but, if the parable Jesus told in Matthew 20 is any indication, lurking beneath these praises could be a heart of jealousy.

AIn this story, found in Matthew 20:1-16 and often called the Laborers in the Vineyard, Jesus tells of a landowner who hires laborers to work in his vineyard. He does this throughout the day, so that the laborer hired in the early part of the day works many more hours than the laborer hired at the end of the day. Yet, the lan...

Trust Isn’t To Be Trusted

Placing trust in someone doesn’t mean they are trustworthy. Trusting a chair to hold you up doesn’t mean it’s sturdy enough to do the job of bearing your weight. Trust must have a basis. Otherwise, it’s not to be trusted.

Trust is a word that’s being discussed a lot these days. That’sprobably why I was intrigued by astory about trust in the Old Testament.

Without getting too caught up in the details, here’s the background: The King of Assyria sends an armyto fight the Israelites led by King H...

Best “Hack” Ever!

If you’ve spent any time at all on any of the social media sites, you’ve come across something called “best hacks” or “unbelievable hacks.” These are usually discoveries people have made to make life easier. Whether it’s simply a description or a full-fledged video, each discovery uses a tagline to get your attention. My favorite is “this shouldn’t work, but it does.”

Here’s my own “best hack” for having a meaningful, God-glorifying, devotional moment. And yes, “this shouldn’t work, but it do...