It’s finally over and I actually survived! Now I can relax. It was a mindset I had that ruled the day early in my faith walk when my primary focus during a trial was anticipating when it would be over. It was efficient and effective. But it was wrong.    Yes, that approach was clearly wrong for a Christian trying to grow spiritually through life’s ups and downs. Actually, it is an attitude...

It doesn’t take long for children to start wanting something and eventually demanding everything. All of us have seen it play out when kids scream THAT’S MINE! This me-centered perspective is particularly evident today in the face of 21stCentury relativism, where everything is okay if “no one gets hurt.” It’s a sad farce.    Proof that adults are no different than kids in this regard can...

My friend was startled when a notice crawled across her screen with a banner headline screaming NSF! The first thing that crossed HER mind was “another non-sufficient funds (NSF) notice from my bank.”    The first thing that crossed MY mind when I heard his story was how those three letters—NSF—apply to a Christian’s faith walk.    How Christians can get NSF notices from God–NON-SUFFICIENT...

Some of you are at the CROSSROADS of life RIGHT NOW. For others, it is looming just ahead. For all of us, we will hit that junction at some point and then face it again and again. In fact, we find ourselves standing at the CROSSROADS of life more now than ever before. What used to happen every few years now happens every few months when we hit the CROSSROADS of faith, family, career, relationships,...

God does not look at us through the lens of our past. He sees us through the certainty and knowledge of a future designed by him. God cares more about our tomorrows than our yesterdays. It is a good thing when Christians set goals to “be better.” Better at reading God’s Word and praying. Better at fellowship with other believers. And better at battling those things that would have us do or say the...

We all worry about what people think of us. When we are young children…when we are middle-age adults…and when we are aging seniors. We covet affirmation through our entire life. We care about “what others think.” The problem is how whatever people think about us will ALWAYS fall short of the IDEAL SCRIPT we write in our mind.    Before you lock this away as a one-dimensional point, it’s...

Mercy. Early in my faith walk I was ignorant about the imperative to insert my motives–the soul’s compass–into the daily conversation I was having with God. Into my thoughts. Into my attitude. Into my behavior. mo·tive: A reason for doing something, especially one that is hidden or not obvious.    This notion of motives zoomed to the surface of my thoughts yesterday while I was...

The World Health Organization has just classified BURNOUT as an official diagnosis when stress has been mismanaged. Welcome to a new world of chasing the elusive “I want everything” dream. It’s not a surprise. Burnout is an epidemic rolling through our culture like a bowling ball toppling vulnerable pins that can be knocked over on impact.    Burnout is mostly associated with the workplace...

God created us with a predisposition to seek perfection. But only God is perfect. Most believers understand this point most of the time. But that understanding is often in the context of a “perfection principle” that can quickly disappear once life’s Tilt-A-Whirl bolts from the safety of its loading zone.    This is when Christians are most vulnerable to have their faith dislocated and...

John’s world was collapsing around him. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer and lost his mom to a heart attack in the same month. Dementia was ravaging his dad’s mind. And his adult daughter had stopped talking with him after exploding this bomb at his feet: “You care more about the church than you care about your family.” This story is real and unfolding right now in middle America in the life...