I keep trying to get things right, but there’s no more penance to pay. It’s all been taken care of. I woke up the other morning with this phrase running through my head. ‘No more penance to pay’ What does this word ‘penance’ mean? Penance comes from the Latin […]
repentance
11 posts
I want to pray, but don’t know how. How to Pray for a Narcissist. It begins with honesty. It prays for light. Can a Narcissist change? That’s a question many people ask. But it’s much like that old joke about psychologists changing a lightbulb. How many psychologists does it […]
What does perfect narcissism look like? We can see it in the evil of Satan. I read a list the other day about the characteristics of those with narcistic personality disorder. Grandiose Sense of Self-Importance: They believe they are superior and special, deserving of exceptional treatment and recognition. Exploitative […]
We need a weight loss program for the heart, but we can’t do it alone, so a vicar steps in and declares, ‘You are forgiven. Be at peace.’ I could feel a kind of weight leave my body. I had carried this tension and held this stress for so long […]
We want change, and we want it now, but deep change requires the granting of space and time. So grant it to our self and others. It was all becoming too much. Pressure from others to ‘get over it,’ to ‘let it go,’ and ‘sort your life out’ was beginning […]
We want a behavior change, but it doesn’t seem to happen. However, it will happen with many changes in the mind (repentance). We always notice significant behavior change, don’t we? Yet, people who change dramatically are often given the stage and a microphone to trumpet the difference. I remember as […]
Emotional pain can lead us to some very dark places, but embracing the pain may open doors for the Christ light to come and eat with us. It was another email of pain. I looked at my inbox, and someone had sent me an email in response to my ‘God, […]
To demand or expect forgiveness is like a chess player trying to manipulate the board, but that’s not true repentance. Instead, repentance submits itself to the poetry of waiting, praying, and hoping. They thought they could use the Bible to manipulate and control. Verses were hurled, and they were told, […]
Accepting the consequences is a repentant heart saying ‘Yes’ to what has been done, praying for mercy, and possibly discovering grace. A few years ago I was caught speeding. I was going too fast. The police officer pulled me over and asked if I knew what speed I was traveling. […]
We do something we regret and want to make amends for, but what about the heart. Come as a servant but don’t become a slave. I was working in a garden the other day when I accidentally knocked over a small pot plant. It toppled over and fell onto a […]