Posts Categorized: Sharing the Journey

Fear Not

In the midst of uncertainty, we are prone to fear, and fear spotlights the weakness of our faith. Jesus understood this weakness and compassionately reminded his disciples not to fear but to trust God. Our Father knows our need before we ask, and in his goodness and love, he gives us faith and strength to endure hardships when our human frailties defeat our best spiritual intentions. Our present struggle against a microscopic enemy is opportunity to acknowledge God’s sovereignty and choose to remain faithful to God’s ways of generosity, sacrifice, and love.

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Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Forgiveness Fix

I am so excited to have my story published in the newly released book Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Forgiveness Fix. The book is now available for purchase and includes 101 true stories from people like me whose lives have been graced by the gift of forgiveness.

My story, “A Last Look,” describes my recent experience of visiting the street where I grew up and realizing that in the richness of love and friendships God has given me over the years, I could afford to forgive my abusive and unrepentant parents, now long deceased but still very much on my heart.

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Love Without Strings

“Love seeks one thing only: the good of the one loved.” —Thomas Merton

We don’t just want love; we need love. We were created to seek love as urgently as we seek food and oxygen. And sometimes we’ll do desperate things to get it.

Secular research explains our need to be loved as a primal instinct for self-preservation: Belonging to a group increases our chances of escaping hungry predators. From a spiritual perspective, our need for love motivates us to search for God and the fellowship with him that he imprinted on our souls. In both cases, finding love enhances our sense of well-being, whereas being denied love carries the subliminal threat of extinction.

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Five Resolutions for Better Relationships

A fresh new year is a good time to reflect on the quality and effectiveness of our relationships. Consider these five practical tips for enhancing your daily encounters with people and living out Christ in your business, social, and personal life.

#1 – Clean out your grudge closet

Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. (Ephesians 4:31, NLT)

We all have them—secret closets where we store up old grudges and offenses and injuries that we have never been able to forgive.

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Rx for A Bitter Heart, Part 4: The Cure

This is the fourth and final article on Resentment.

Living Without Resentment

To pursue a heart like Christ’s means blocking resentment at every opportunity. It means resisting the allure of nursing a grudge and alerting ourselves to all the subtle ways that bitterness can enter our hearts and put down it destructive roots.

One sure way to keep bitterness out of our hearts is to stop ourselves from taking offense in the first place. We often don’t realize that we choose how we will respond to others—whether to be angry or hurt or insulted.

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