Red Letters: Jesus - Liar, lunatic, or Lord? (Week 1)

In this first message in my six week series about the greatest words ever spoken (the words of Christ) we explored the massive question of whether Christ was a liar, lunatic, or Lord? The issue is important because there is no middle ground. Listen to the sermon here.

Unlimited partnership: Couples in business

Check out a great article on husbands and wives working together in business:

(FSB Magazine) — Some men and women are meant to be just friends; others inexplicably click, fall in love, and become couples for life..

Among those, a rare few know where their other half is at all times, they’re as likely to have lunch together as dinner, and they shamelessly poke their noses into each other’s business, literally: They’re entrepreneurial couples - partners who share a home and also a company- and they make up one of the most dynamic and unexpected forces in small business today.

While couples have launched businesses together since before the first pioneers peddled farming implements from their wagons, today’s mom and pop shops are different. More often than before, they’re professional instead of retail, global rather than local, and “mom” is likelier to have birthed the business and own most of it.

Gwen Martin at the Center for Women’s Business Research, in Washington, D.C., counts 10.4 million woman-owned companies (defined as at least 50 percent owned by a woman) in 2006; 74 percent of those are majority-owned by women. Of the 26 percent that are equal partnerships, it’s unclear how many are owned by spouses, but related statistics suggest an uptick in couple-run firms.

According to the American Family Business Survey conducted by the MassMutual Financial Group and the Raymond Institute, husband-and-wife CEOs of family businesses increased from 8 percent in 1997 to 14 percent in 2002.

Glenn Muske, an Oklahoma State University professor who has spent the past six years studying the topic, estimates that 3 million of the 22 million U.S. small businesses in 2000 were couple-owned. He doesn’t expect updated figures until late spring, but he and other experts believe that further growth has occured in the past half-decade.

What has triggered this transformation? Turns out that mom and pop shops have changed in large part because Mom now often has as much education as Pop (if not more), and she’s determined to use it.

Women now hold 59 percent of all college degrees, and are moving rapidly into traditionally male-dominated fields, such as engineering and computer science, that prepare them to launch scalable companies, as opposed to the stereotypical home-based catering business.

Read more here

Mother’s ‘priceless gift’ to her daughter

Just another great reason to be a living donor, by Fiona McPherson:

WHEN Tracey Coull heads off for a night out, her mum, Margaret, has an unusual request to make of her… “look after my kidney.”

The mother and daughter share an extra special bond after Mrs Coull (52) offered her organ for transplant to give Tracey (27) the gift of life. Margaret Coull didn’t hesitate when doctors revealed that Tracey, who was already on dialysis four times a day, desperately needed a new kidney.

Now the family, who are gearing up for a special fund-raising event this weekend to pay a special thank you to the hospitals and medical staff who helped Tracey back to health, are urging others not to hesitate either when it comes to joining the NHS Organ Donor Register.

Both Margaret and husband Ally, an electrician, were tested and found to be a match for Tracey but, sadly, many patients waiting for a transplant are not so lucky and need the help of a stranger on the register to live. Margaret said: “When the doctors said Tracey needed a transplant, I really didn’t even think about it. There was no way I wouldn’t have done it.

“The transplant has given Tracey a new lease of life and she has never looked back.”

The family, of McKenzie Street, Findochty, believe Tracey, who is partially sighted, may have suffered kidney problems since birth, but it was only in 2003 that her health began to deteriorate and was diagnosed with chronic kidney failure.

Read more here

Red Letters: The greatest words ever spoken about your life, your relationships, and your future!

I couldn’t be more excited about my next sermon series! It is all Jesus, all the time.  One of my dear friends, Steve Scott, has written a book that is coming out in the Fall of 2008 titled “The Greatest Words Ever Spoken”.  He is the first person to categorize everything Jesus was ever recorded saying.  His book is over 500 pages and it’s literally an Encyclopedia of knowledge about what Jesus said on over 200 topics!

My sermon series will go something like this:

1. Jesus: Liar, Lunatic, or Lord?
2. Personnel Jesus: What Jesus can do for you today.
3. Counter Culture Christ
4. Jesus CEO
5. Are you someone Jesus despised?
6. Evolution: What Jesus said about your future.

If you haven’t checked out Parkway Church, then please come say hi in Victoria, Texas.

Transformation through taking care of yourself (week 5)

Is self-care selfish? Learn what Jesus said when he was asked, “What’s the most important commandment?” Listen to Michael Smalley’s fresh look at how to love yourself so you can better love others.

Transformation through serving (week 4)

If you want to experience true transformation in your life, then you need to learn how to serve others through volunteering. Listen to Bard Letsinger’s sermon here.

How can I teach my daughter the power of purity and modesty when sex is treated so casually?

Q: How can I teach my daughter the power of purity and modesty when sex is treated so casually?Watch Michael and Amy Smalley’s Answer
More from Michael and Amy Smalley

My boyfriend has had sex, but I am still a virgin - what should I do?

Q: My boyfriend has had sex, but I am still a virgin. I’m really interested in him, but I’d like to marry a man who’s a virgin, too. What should I do? Watch Michael and Amy Smalley’s Answer

I got pregnant and my husband is angry - what can I do?

Q: I got pregnant and my husband is angry. He insists it’s my fault because I didn’t take my birth control. I took it, what do I do to communicate this to my husband so he’ll believe me? Watch Michael and Amy Smalley’s Answer

How can I stop myself from having random sex with men?

Q: I have a habit of going out and drinking too much. When I do this, I take random guys home and have sex with them. How do I stop this behavior? Watch Michael and Amy Smalley’s Answer

Finally a couple willing to break free during their vows!

You’ve got to listen to these precious vows. I love a couple willing to go outside of the traditional box and create something meaningful for themselves.

Dr. Randy Pausch - learn how to live while alive!

If you haven’t watched this video yet - please take a look.  It is the last lecture of Dr. Randy Pausch because he is dying of pancreatic cancer.  He has a young family consisting of three kids and a wife.  This will truly help you appreciate life and also learn how to live while while alive.

I have sex, but I still feel really empty inside when it’s over. Is this normal?

Q: I have sex, but I still feel really empty inside when it’s over. Is this normal?Watch Michael and Amy Smalley’s Answer More from Michael and Amy Smalley

Is oral sex really sex?

Q: Some people claim that oral sex isn’t really sex. What do you think?Watch Michael and Amy Smalley’s Answer. More from Michael and Amy Smalley

Is oral sex okay?

Q: Is oral sex okay?Watch Michael and Amy Smalley’s Answer
More from Michael and Amy Smalley

How do I talk to my spouse about wants and dislikes I have in the bedroom?

Q: How do I talk to my spouse about wants and dislikes I have in the bedroom?Watch Michael and Amy Smalley’s Answer More from Michael and Amy Smalley

How can I achieve intimacy with someone I’m dating without having sex?

Q: How can I achieve intimacy with someone I’m dating without having sex? Watch Michael and Amy Smalley’s Answer More from Michael and Amy Smalley