Reading Time: 3 minutesI am offendable. I wish it wasn’t true, but it is. I wish I wasn’t, but I am. I wish I could look past it, but I can’t. I wish I was stronger, but I’m not. I want to be more mature, but I am still learning how to be a grown up. I wish Jesus was always on the throne, but he’s not. The truth is …
Reading Time: 3 minutesLord, I need your guidance. Where should I live? What should be my life’s work/career? Who should I marry? How many children should we have? Who should I hire? Should I take the job in North Carolina or the one in Minnesota? The Bible doesn’t specifically address these questions, but God wants to give us answers to these questions. How do we place ourselves in a position that gives us a better chance of receiving answers from God when we seek him?
Reading Time: 2 minutesTrump-anxiety. “Clintonitis.” Are these real conditions? Psychologists and massage therapists believe they are real. Consequently, they are seeing more and more of their clients stressing over the rise of Donald Trump and the potential of Clinton being elected. People are fearful, nervous, and panicky about the possibility of Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton becoming president of the United States, and I don’t blame them.
I have a problem! Some problems are difficult to solve and need complex solutions. Others issues are simple and need more practical decoding. Here is a five-step process to help you solve simple problems.
Reading Time: 2 minutesIt is true that parents sometimes provoke their children to anger, but it is equally true that sometimes children dishonor their parents. Earlier this week I blogged about some common ways parents provoke their children to anger. The post sparked a lot of conversation among parents and children. A couple people asked me about the first part of Ephesians 6, where Paul commands children to obey and honor their parents. This is a follow-up post to the one written earlier. Now, posting a list like this is not designed to make children or parents feel guilty, but to help us know where we are, see our mistakes, ask for grace and to become 5% better. So, here are 21 common ways children dishonor their parents.
Reading Time: 2 minutesAs a parent, I make my children angry more than I care to admit. If you are honest, you do too. So, a couple of weeks ago, I disobeyed Ephesians 6:4, a clear command in Scripture – I provoked one of my children to anger. This incident got me to thinking about other ways parents provoke their kids to anger.
Reading Time: 4 minutesMy mother’s sudden death several months ago shocked, grieved, crushed, and inspired new life in me at the same time. We were about to tee off on the last hole when I reached in my golf bag to check my phone. I was alarmed when I saw that I had at least ten missed calls and messages. Nervous about returning the calls, I finally forced my fingers to call my wife. As soon as she answered the phone, I knew something was wrong.
Reading Time: 3 minutesHow long have you ever gone without your iPhone? Ten minutes? An hour? A day? Three days? Well, try three weeks. Yes, I went three weeks without my iPhone. I learned a few surprising lessons in the process.
Reading Time: 4 minutes“I don’t feel close to you this week.” These were the words my wife spoke to me while we were lying in bed the other morning. These words stabbed and seem to slice a major artery. Though she probably didn’t mean it this way, it felt like she was accusing me of causing the present distance in our relationship. This was surprising to me because we had been talking all week long. So, what was she talking about that she didn’t feel close and connected to me? What else could I do to connect with my wife?
Reading Time: 2 minutesHow do you respond when the odds are against you? How do you muster the enough strength to keep going when everyone around you is saying you should give up? How do we get through difficult times? No matter how many obstacles are placed before us, we have a responsibility to keep trying and persevering. If we keep pushing through quitting points, we might be surprised as to what’s on the other side of perseverance.