Category Archives: biography

The Wilberforce Force — Undying Passion To Make A Difference For Righetousness

Posted on March 2, 2013 by Steve Simms

Yesterday I watched a movie about William Wilberforce, the man who in the early 1800 spent many years trying to get a bill to end the slave trade through the British Parliament. The force of Wilberforce’s example and lifestyle moved … Continue reading →

Posted in abolishing the slave trade, abolitionism, abolitionist movement, abolitionists, advocate, agitator, alternative lifestyle, altruism, Amazing Grace, Atlantic slave trade, biography, British history, British Parliament, burning desire, burning heart, calling, causes, changing society, charity, Christendom, Christian, Christianity, compassion, crusader, do gooders, England, English, facebook, Facebook-style, giving, history, Making a difference, may the force be with you, middle passage, moral, moral failure, moral foundations, moral laws, moral principles, moral reformer, morality, movement, movie, movie review, MP, passion, passionate, philanthropy, purpose driven, purpose of life, Quotations, quote, Quotes, racial reconciliation, radical, radical Christianity, radical obedience, Real Christianity, reason for living, reformer, search for significance, searching for significance, serving others, slave trade, slavery, slaves, social justice, social media, social reformer, societal, transformation movements, volunteerism, volunteers | Tagged Amazing Grace movie, ending the slave trade, history, meaning of life, purpose, religion, slavery, William Wilberforce | 3 Comments

Quotes From Spiritual Athletes Between The 4th & 7th Centuries

Posted on December 29, 2011 by Steve Simms

Here are some quotations written between the Fourth and Seventh Centuries by some powerful spiritual athletes. They are from an amazing collection of writings — The Philokalia — Volume One. Enjoy the quotes: “When a man has an exact knowledge … Continue reading →

Posted in apologists, biography, boundaries, challenges, change, Christianity, church history, education, feelings, fire, freedom, fuel, history, impossible odds, kingdom of God, life, lifestyles, meaning, mind, mystery, mysticism, peace, Philokalia, positive thinking, Quotations, Quotes, religion, saints, spiritual disciplines, spiritual formation, spiritual growth, spiritual skills, spiritual warfare, thinking, thoughts, Uncategorized, words | Tagged a blazing fire, Abba Moses, about to enter, accept, admonishing, against, against its will, amending, an amazing collection, Anthony the Great, athletes, attention, base thoughts, centuries, choice, coming, conduct, control, control our desires, correcting, defile, descends into the darkness, Diadochos of Photiki, distractions, drag, effort, enjoy, Evagrios the Solitary, evil thoughts, exact knowledge, exert, expel, expulsion, external sins, eyes, faster it dies down, feed, first, forcibly, fourth, free, free in their character, Give, grows, guard the heart, here are, Hesychios the Priest, his own enemy, impossible, impure thoughts, inflicts damage, intelligence, into, Isaiah the Solitary, John Cassian, John of Karpathos, Journey without direction, king, lazy, less fuel, like, making it, malicious words, man, Mark the Ascetic, mind, more it, Neilos the Ascetic, no longer, not those, on his own, outwardly free, passions, power, powerful, powerful words, quotes, recognize, recognizes, regard, regulating, remain, resentful, rules, ruling, service, Seventh, sin, skill, some, spiritual, spiritual athletes, state, status, struggle, subjects, take the utmost care, the intellect, the nature of thoughts, The Philokalia, then go, through struggle, troubled, troubled by thoughts, troubling, undistrubed, Volume One, wants to see clearly, wasted effort, we can reach, whoever becomes angry, wisdom, within, within the power, writings, written between | 2 Comments

What The Church Can Learn From The Oprah Show

Posted on September 5, 2011 by Steve Simms

The Oprah Show was not just entertainment. It connected with people, encouraged them, challenged them, and made a difference in their lives. Perhaps the 21st Century church could learn a few things from Oprah. * Allow spontaneity. The Oprah Show was … Continue reading →

Posted in apologists, Berry Street Worship Center, biography, change, Christianity, crying, house church, life, lifestyles, meaning, morality, morals, multi-racial, Nashville, Oh my God, Oprah, Oprah Show, organic church, popular culture, race, racism, religion, self-help, simple church, spiritual, tears, The Salvation Army, Uncategorized, What is church? | Tagged 21st Century, 225 Berry Street, 37207, all races, allow, allowed, audience members, being human, Berry Street, caring, challenged, changed, check out, church, city, clap, congregation, connected, cried, declare, degrading, denies, different, draw viewers, dull, embraced, emotion, emotionless, encouraged, encouraging, entertainment, entire, exciting, expecting, express, fall for anything, features, felt, find a way, flow, focus, followed, freedom, fresh, gatherings, get out of the box, goal Christianity, God's image, greatness, grieved, guests, gushed, hand, harm, heart, hour, human emotion, humanity, ideals, ideas, If you're happy, important part, involved, irrelevant, it is time, Jesus, Jesus Christ, laugh, laughed, learn from, life-changing, like, lived, lives, look the part, made a difference, meetings, mike, mold, most, multi-racial, mutual, name of, Nashville, needs, nod, notify your face, on and on, online, Oprah, Oprah Show, participatory church, passive, passively by, people, places, popular, presentation, programmed, quite, race, raise, read, real-life, rejoiced, religious, respond, rest, reviews, rididly, ritual, sadness, same-ole, segregated, sensationalism, show, showed, sitting, society, someone has said, spectators, spectrum, spontaneity, stand for something, stay awake, struggling, Sundays, take the high road, talk TV, taught, The Salvation Army, things, to happen, trash, unexpected, unfortunately, uplifting, whole, Worship Center | 11 Comments

Actor, former Senator, Fred Thompson’s Response To My Book

Posted on August 18, 2011 by Steve Simms

I ran into former Senator Fred Thompson in the airport in Washington, DC once. I handed him a copy of my book: Your Sperm Won–Experiencing Your Value As A Championship Human Being. I said: “Senator Thompson, I’d like to give … Continue reading →

Posted in American Literature, biography, books, change, drugs, Fred Thompson, history, life, lifestyles, meaning, mind, recovery, self-esteem, self-help, self-image, speech making, thinking, thoughts, Uncategorized | Tagged activity, actors, airport, America, As A, being, book, can be done, championship, copy, DC, deep down, difficult, doing it, dramptic, drugs, even, everybody, experiencing, face, feel good, fill, forgiveness, former, Fred Thompson, gazed, Give, God's grace, handed, hard work, how, how can, human being, like, like yourself, look, love mercy, moment, money, music, need, noise, not easy, on and on, once, peace, popularity, ran into, self-esteem, Senator, Senator Thompson, senators, should be, sports, strength, tend, that, trouble, try, value, voice, Washington, wow, wrote, your, Your Sperm Won | Leave a comment

Norman Vincent Peale at 93

Posted on July 4, 2011 by Steve Simms

Several years ago, Norman Vincent Peale, author of the book, The Power Of Positive Thinking, was scheduled to speak for an association convention in Nashville. He was 93 years old at the time. I knew someone who worked for that … Continue reading →

Posted in biography, change management, lifestyles, Norman Vincent Peale, positive thinking, public speaking, Quotations, Quotes, self-esteem, self-help, self-image, thinking, thoughts | Tagged association, attend, author, bigger, boldness, book, capable, change, chosen area, compare, comparison, convention, conviction, Dr., energy, everybody is better, excited, feel better, feel inferior, forgotten, greater things, hear, high school, inferiority complex, lives, long pause, lose, mind, myself, Nashville, Norman Vincent Peale, not to compare, one-of-a-kind, optimism, original, positive thinking, problem, quotes, realize, remember correctly, scheduled, something, speak, speech, spoke, stories, strength, superior, The Power Of Positive Thinking, think, thought, weakness, winderity, years, yes, younger | 1 Comment

Joel’s Jolts — Powerful Words From An Old Testament Prophet

Posted on June 26, 2011 by Steve Simms

Joel is an Old Testament prophet whose words will give you a jolt. Are you ready for a jumping Joel jolt? Here are some quotes from Joel: “The word of the Lord that came to Joel, son of Pethuel.” “Hear … Continue reading →

Posted in ancient history, Bible, biography, God, kingdom of God, life, lifestyles, mysticism, Oh my God, prayer, Quotations, Quotes, reading, tears, What is church? | Tagged abounding, afterward, Are you ready for, assembly, at hand, blessing, blow the trumpet in Zion, calamity, call, close, coming, compassionate, cry out, daughters, day of the Lord, declare, declares, dream dreams, elders, even now, fast, fasting, garments, give you a jolt, God, gracious, have, hear this, Here goes, hill, holy, I am strong, I will pour out my Spirit, in the valley of decision, Joel, jumping, land, leave behind, listen, Lord, love, mourning, multitudes, not your, old men, Old Testament, people sons, Pethuel, pity, prophesy, prophet, relents, rend your heart, return, sacred, say, see visions, sending, servants, slow to anger, sound the alarm, The word of the Lord, those days, tremble, turn, weakling, weeping, Who knows? may, with all your heart, women, words, young men | 5 Comments

Positive Reading Is Super Inspiration

Posted on June 25, 2011 by Steve Simms

Faster than a speeding worry; more powerful than an evil motive; able to leap tall obstacles in a single bound . . . Look in an uplifting book! Positive reading is super inspiration! Some books contain ideas that connect, not … Continue reading →

Posted in American Literature, biography, books, church history, criticism, education, English literature, history, life, lifestyles, Quotations, Quotes, reading, self-help, Uncategorized | Tagged able to leap tall, accounts, all wealth, amazing adventure, American literature, blaze of glory, book, books, boring, cannot be compared, church history, cipher, connect, connects, contain, convenience, create vision, dazzle, drudgery, electricity, empowered, English Literature, enlightened, evil, exercise, experience, faster than a speeding, finish, folks, forced to read, formal, go, great, healed, heart, Henry David Thoreau, history, hope, human soul, ideas, ignites, in a single bound, in other words, intellectural, keep, know, learned, library, life, like, little or nothing, look, may sound strange, mind, more powerful than, more precious, motive, never read another book after, noble, not be cheated, obstacles, other, paltry, positive reading, pretend, put it, quotations, quote, quotes, read, reading, reflecting off a lake, Richard de Bury, school, self-help, set free, sought out, stir up, subjects, sunlight, super inspiration, trade, transformed, turned into, turned many people off, uninteresting, uplifting, where should you, wisdom, worry, years | Leave a comment

Things That Stir My Soul

Posted on June 19, 2011 by Steve Simms

Here are some things that stir my soul to sense the spiritual reality that surrounds us — that create a sense of awe in my heart. These things motivate me, inspire me, and help me be aware of the reality … Continue reading →

Posted in apologists, Bible, biography, books, Civil Rights, Creator, God, history, life, lifestyles, music, mysticism, organic church, prayer, Quotations, Quotes, self-help, social justice, Uncategorized | Tagged Amazing Grace, aware, awe, beauty, Bible, biographies, books, breakthroughs, Brother Sun, children, Christian, classics, collecting, common, concerns, conserns, create, creativity, etc., experience, expressing, favorite, flowers, focusing on, Gandhi, getting, God, growth, heart, help, helping somebody, hills, His, his/her, history, holding a baby, Holy Spirit, in my heart, inspirational, inspire, interacting, It's A Wonderful Life, Jr., Les Miserables, lives, manifest, Martin Luther King, meeting, message, mind, motivate, move, movies, music, nature, needs, observing, ocean, of others, openly, partcipating, passionately, people, personal, Philokalia, presence, publicly, quotations, quotes, rainbow, reading, reality, revivals, sense, share, Shenandoah, Sister Moon, small, social justice, songs, speeches, spiritual, spirituality, squirrels, stary sky, stir my soul, stories, story, sunset, surrounded by, surrounds us, take over, the, The Arthur Blessett Story, The Cross, things, To Dream The Impossible Cream, uplifting, watching, What God is doing, William Wilberforce, within me, woods, worship, writing | 2 Comments

Didn’t You Know You’ve Got to Cry Sometime?

Posted on June 16, 2011 by Steve Simms

Diana Ross sings a song that asks this question: “Didn’t you know you have to cry sometime?” However, a popular myth in our day says: “Strong people don’t cry,” or “Real men don’t cry.” Why, then, do they have tear ducts? The … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, biography, books, crying, history, kingdom of God, life, lifestyles, music, mysticism, Oh my God, prayer, Quotations, Quotes, religion, self-esteem, self-help, self-image, tears, thoughts, Uncategorized | Tagged . outlet, a sign, admission, analysis, ancient, anguish of heart, appearance, asks, Babylonian captivity, believed, broken heart, brokenness, By the rivers of Babylon, calamity, calm, caring, collected, comfort, communicate, compassion, concern, condition, cool, crying, day, deeply felt, Diana Ross, Didn't you know, discover, distress, disturbing, don't cry, dreadfully, dut ourselves, embarrassment, emotion, endure, enemmies, examples, exceptions, experience, far from, far more, fast, fellow, for instance, for the most part, freely, frequently, genuine, great, grief, groaning, guard, heard, heart-felt, Hebrews, hold back, human connections, human resources, human spirit, humans, humility, I eat ashes as my food, I flood my bed, ignored, image, indicative, inner reality, intellectual understanding, Jeremiah, Jerusalem, Jewish, Jews, King David, know how, let, life, man's man, mere, mingle my drink, more effectively, moved beyond, myth, Nehemiah, never stopped, New Testaments, next time, night, nowadays, off, old, our day, pain, passionate, Paul of Tarsus, people, perhaps, popular, popular song, profund, publicly, question, quotation, quoted, Real men don't cry, relief, remain, remember, reveal, said, say again, scorn, shed, sign of weakness, significant, sings, society, someone, song, strong, tear ducts, tears, the cross of Christ, the myth, the weeping prophet, touch, tough men, truth, warning, warrior, we could use some, we sat and wept when we remembered Zion, weep with those who weep, Why, without, words, worn out, you have to cry sometime | Leave a comment

Talk About Expensive Gas!

Posted on June 13, 2011 by Steve Simms

Recently I pulled up to a gas pump in Nashville prepared to pay almost $4.00 per gallon. As I got out of the car I was bombarded with very loud music coming from the car on the opposite side of the pump. … Continue reading →

Posted in biography, brain chemistry, Civil Rights, criticism, human rights, lifestyles, music, Nashville, self-esteem, self-image, social justice, thinking, thoughts, Uncategorized | Tagged $4.00, attitude, bad stuff, barge, bombarded, brain, car, CD, conscious, contortionist, demonic, ears, evil, f-word, fight, filth, for a tank, gas, hear, high prace, Jesus, loud, loudly, mental, music, n-word, Nashville, nasty, negativity, nozzle, obscenities, occupied, pay, per gallon, pollution, pounding, profanities, pump, pumping gas, pumps, spewing, spiritual, vehicle, vulgarities, words, worman | 7 Comments

Category Archives: biography

Quotes From Spiritual Athletes Between The 4th & 7th Centuries

What The Church Can Learn From The Oprah Show

Actor, former Senator, Fred Thompson’s Response To My Book

Norman Vincent Peale at 93

Joel’s Jolts — Powerful Words From An Old Testament Prophet

Positive Reading Is Super Inspiration

Didn’t You Know You’ve Got to Cry Sometime?

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