It surrounds us all the time. Ambient stress. We probably aren’t even aware of it, but we can do something about it when we recognize it. I have one of my favorite and most cherished items on the wall above my desk. It is a barometer that measures the pressure […]
Anxiety & Stress
Every one of us needs someone to help us with our stress load, but the best person is someone who has been there, done that, got the scars to prove it —Jesus of the scars. Take the stress away. Essentially, that’s what many of you and I pray for. We […]
Tired and weary, worn down and burned out. You can’t find relief because you have no refuge. So let’s build a storm shelter together. It’s the noise that wears you down. The ambient, in the background but all around you, stresses of life. You’re the meat in the sandwich, and […]
We have all been a little one, a child, and we stumble, but we can grow from the stumbles, and we can learn new truth and find new hope. I’ve heard many stories of abuse, but some of the worst are when subtle little lies have, with organized precision, been […]
We are like a cup in which energy both fills and drains. But we can grow by paying attention to the cup and understanding the fillers and the drainers. It was always a challenge to get them to care for themselves. They were always giving out to others, and I […]
The load we carry can get too heavy, and we can breakdown. But we can grow through it when we have others who will watch with us. I needed help. I vividly remember the day I rang emergency services. I had come to a point where I knew I couldn’t […]
Words have power. Self-deprecation is to pray against the self, but we can learn to pray for the self and so develop healthier thinking patterns. It was the words at the end of his sentence that caught my attention. ‘I’m so stupid; I always do things like that’. You […]
We think our lives have a strength to them, but remove a few Jenga pegs, experience a shock, and we can easily topple to the stress. So we build with each other and find new resilience. A couple of mornings ago, my son said ‘Nice Jenga Dad.’ I was puzzled, […]
How can a person know when they have truly forgiven someone else. What is the difference between true forgiveness and simply stuffing down or sweeping under the rug your feelings? It is tempting for Christians to try to forgive quickly in order to ease their minds and resolve the conflict. […]
I love watching those ‘Mission Impossible’ shows. The script takes you to places where you wonder how this ‘Mission Impossible’ will be resolved because if it isn’t, then the whole city is going to be destroyed in a nuclear explosion. I have met people who live in the shadow of […]