2012-01-13T13:01:12-05:00 GCI info@gospel.com /feeds/topics/life+issues/ http://internetevangelismday.com/blog/archives/6741 2012-01-13T13:01:12-05:00 We've seen a crop of good movies already this year – Hugo, Warhorse, The Artist, and The Iron Lady. Culturewatch team Damaris has produced a range of discussion materials about life issues (not political issues) raised by The Iron Lady film http://hutchcraft.com/Life-Issues/Weariness/Help-With-Your-Baggage 2008-11-25T10:33:28-05:00 Maybe you have some crippling issues from your past. Maybe you recently received some bad news or are overloaded with stress. It could be that you’re carrying baggage from a divorce—your own or maybe your parents. Maybe there is some sort of abuse from a bad relationship. Some people are trying to carry the weight of a serious medical condition, a financial crisis, or maybe even a family issue. Today you might have some very heavy baggage. http://hutchcraft.com/Life-Issues/Weariness/Feel-Down-at-the-Top 2008-11-25T10:32:44-05:00 It is said that if you are at the top of Cadillac Mountain in Maine at daybreak, you will be one of the first Americans to see the sunrise that day. That would be something amazing to see, but you wouldn't want to make the valiant effort to get to the top of the mountain only to find the view there a big disappointment. Maybe you have experienced that feeling. You arrived somewhere you really wanted to go or you received something you really wanted, but it turned out to be disappointing. http://hutchcraft.com/Life-Issues/Uncertainty/Sand-Castle-Syndrome 2008-11-24T17:29:29-05:00 Sometimes life seems to be about building sand castles, and we put a lot into things that ultimately don't last. Jobs can turn out to be like a sand castle. ... You put a lot into a job, but when the company doesn't need you anymore, your job is washed away. You might feel that way about relationships, about marriage, or about your parents' marriage. The biggest things in our lives are so vulnerable. http://hutchcraft.com/Life-Issues/Uncertainty/Peace-in-the-Midst-of-the-Storm 2008-11-24T16:57:12-05:00 Years ago, a major art gallery sponsored a competition for painters and they were offering prizes for the best painting on the subject of "Peace." The painting that won was a real surprise. The scene was the ocean in a violent storm. The sky was ominous, the lightning was cutting across the sky, and the waves were crashing into the rock walls of the cliffs by the shore. Where was the peace? You had to look twice to understand what was going on. There, about halfway up the cliff, was a birds' nest tucked into a tiny hollow in the rock. A mother bird was sitting on that nest with her little babies tucked underneath her, sleeping soundly. That was peace! http://hutchcraft.com/Life-Issues/Trust/When-It-All-Comes-Down-to-Trust 2008-11-24T16:54:59-05:00 There is a difference between what you officially believe and what you really trust. It can make a big difference in your life choices. It can make a forever difference in where you spend eternity. http://hutchcraft.com/Life-Issues/Trust/The-Life-or-Death-Verb 2008-11-24T16:54:00-05:00 How much do you trust what you believe? When it comes to where you spend the next hundred billion years and if it will be with God, the deciding action word is believe. It is the life-or-death verb. http://hutchcraft.com/Life-Issues/Starting-Over/The-New-Engine-Difference 2008-11-24T15:58:44-05:00 A lot of us have some emissions coming out of our lives that aren't too pleasant. Too often there is anger spewing out, self-pity because we feel like a victim, or even negative, critical attitudes. ... We say or do something we later regret. http://hutchcraft.com/Life-Issues/Starting-Over/Riding-in-the-Car-That-s-Looking-Backward 2008-11-24T15:47:56-05:00 At an amusement park, you might find a roller coaster that has two lines. Over one line is a sign that says, "Forward", and over the other line a sign that says, "Backward". It's your choice to ride looking forward or looking backward. There are also two lines in life, and two cars you can ride in. One says, "Forward" and the other says, "Backward." You choose. You probably don't want to ride looking back at where you've already been. Instead, you probably want to ride looking ahead to see where you're going. ... That's what God wants for you too. http://hutchcraft.com/Life-Issues/Spiritual-Direction/Looking-Good-Going-Nowhere 2008-11-24T15:45:14-05:00 Are you looking good, but you’re going nowhere? Lots of people are wrong about the one thing you can't afford to be wrong about—God, and how to get to Him. If you're wrong about God, it is eternally fatal.