Life
The importance of “ed”
Do you create, or are you created?
We are, first and foremost, created by God, in whom we have our being and without whom we have nothing. Thankfulness and adoration must forever remain directed to God alone. From that point forward there is a great gap between those who do, and do not, understand what Allan Watts meant when he said, “It is not the wake that drives the boat.”
Think about several people with whom you know some of their story, ...
The Surprising Truth about Forgiveness
I think it’s safe to say that everyone who reads this has been hurt by someone, either emotionally or physically. Think back to one of those moments. Now, I want you to imagine that the hurt they caused you gets drawn out of your body and soul and is transformed into a large burning coal in the palm of your hand. Imagine you hold this orange, sizzling coal in your open hand. What would be your normal reaction? Jerk your ...
The People Pleasing Disease
Imagine this: You are at work and you see someone you like walking down the hall. You aren’t romantically interested, but you like them simply because of their fun personality. You see them pass other co-workers and notice that everyone they meet seems to like them too because they give a big smile or a pat on the back. Are you likely to respect this person more or less because they are well liked by everyone?
Most of us would answer ...
Could Everyone be an Addict? (Part 1)
In his book, Addiction and Grace, Dr. Gerald May said, “To be alive is to be addicted, and to be alive and addicted is to stand in need of grace.” What do you think about that statement? Are you an addict? Based on a proliferation of stereotypes, my guess is most people would say “no”. If I ask you to picture a heroin junkie, a pot head (yes, you absolutely can get addicted to weed), or an alcoholic, what type ...
Could Everyone be an Addict? (Part 2)
Before beginning this post, I encourage you to read Part 1 because it holds several important and foundational ideas needed to understand and apply this post to its fullest potential. Read it. Chew on it. Then come back to this blog post and continue reading.
12-step programs, AA in particular, have been the butt of many debates ranging from “They’re God’s gift to man” to “They’re arrogant and ineffective”. It would be easy for us to jump into the debate along ...
The 2 Most Important Questions Everyone Must Ask
Would you believe me If I told you the 2 most important questions were:
How happy am I?
How much money do I make?
I certainly hope you don’t believe me because those questions are garbage. Would you really let money define you like that? How do you even quantify happiness? No, both of these questions are rubbish. They are merely things in which society wants me to feel the pressure of performance.
What about these next two questions:
How wise am I?
How much do ...
Why I Love Payday!
I’ve been told I get overly excited about my paycheck. But I love payday! Each time my husband or I get paid, I do a little happy dance, okay not really but it’s a great idea anyway. I get extremely happy, giddy even, when someone hands me the check and I look at the number. I am the one who does the finances in my home, so this always means more work for me. I have to go divide it ...
What Would You Do if You Were Married to Josh Dugger or Jerod Fogel?
Ashley Madison security breach; people are amazed. Famous people get caught like Josh Dugger, Jerod Fogel, and Tiger Woods; people are surprised and disgusted. I am surprised by how surprised we all are! Lots of these famous people have been inspiring role models who fell into a terrible lifestyle and were caught right in front of America’s eyes, ouch! Unfortunately, in my line of work, I see this all too often with many people who are inspiring role models, no ...
Be Worthy of Your Sufferings
The Russian writer and philosopher Dostoyevsky once said, “There is only one thing that I dread: not to be worthy of my sufferings.” We can recognize the weight of this idea easily enough, but when placed in the context of the holocaust (as it was in Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning), this thought becomes profound. Imagine being starved and beaten for months on end and still holding to this idea! Recently I had a less noble version of this ...
