When you’re in a dark hole, it can feel like there is a loss of hope, but you can dig yourself out with some wisdom and encouragement. It was a hole that I had fallen into. I was in a deep dark hole where the sun didn’t seem to reach. […]
Resilience
52 posts
Criticism can hurt, bruise, and extinguish our hearts, but learning how to handle criticism can build new strength and resilience. I could see the hope drain out of him as I watched both the subtle and not-so-subtle criticisms land upon him. I was in a meeting with a guy I […]
When hope is deferred, our heart grows sick, but when we see and know the hope fulfilled in the now, we can build resilience to the struggles of the day. People traveled long distances hoping to get some of the money ‘falling from the sky.’ A few nights ago, I […]
You might be helping them too much and hinder any progress for them and yourself, but we can learn new ways of helping and see the change we want for them and ourselves. She was helping too much, and the person she was helping didn’t mind one little bit. In […]
It was tasting the dust of devastation. The broken pieces. But those fragments can be brought together, and so we quietly form a new mosaic. When something in your life is shattered — by grief, failure, or disaster — the broken pieces left behind aren’t the end of the story. […]
Quick answer: When stress piles up, it can feel like one unbeatable giant. The Bible story of David and Goliath offers a simple pattern for handling it: name every piece of the problem (the “ands”), identify the strength or resource you already have (the “but”), then take one deliberate action […]
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 […]
Criticism comes to us all, but we can grow through it. We need to listen, ask questions and learn how to handle it with dignity. They knew what was going to happen even before they got home. They were going to have to run through a gauntlet of criticism. Where […]
When we keep looking at the mountain of struggle, we can feel crushed, but when we know someone greater than the mountain is with us, we can find the help we need. Mountains move when we meditate on God’s goodness. Where I live, I’m surrounded by mountains. They’re not very […]
Life will blunt your edge. The knocks, the scuffs, the micro-abrasions and who you are gets dulled. Having a daily sharpening practice keeps your mental health having a fine edge. I was getting frustrated. I was cutting down a tree with my chainsaw, and it was taking forever. The teeth of […]