During the fourteen years that I was fasting from publishing books, Kristi and I were on a retreat with a group of church leaders. As I was quiet and still before God, some inner emotions surfaced and I became aware of feeling inadequate and deficient. I felt I was not doing enough with my life:…
A friend of mine was quite late for his appointment with me. He finally arrived breathless as he explained to me that 24 hours in a day just wasn’t enough! He was trying so hard to be a good pastor but he just couldn’t accomplish all that his church required of him. Trying to meet…
When Jesus lived on earth, he never walked on eggshells around people, worried about upsetting them, clung to them for approval, or pushed to get them to do what they should. He was self-aware, secure, solid, purposeful, straightforward, loving. How did Jesus do this? How was he able to be so loving, even to difficult…
One thing that helped turn me around before I totally burned out was to look prayerfully at the life of Jesus. I studied the Gospels carefully and learned some surprising things that I hadn’t been taught in church. I saw Jesus setting boundaries repeatedly. I share the full results of this study into the confident…
Your fingerprint is unique to you — it’s a physical mark of your identity. What about your personal identity? What defines who you are? Imagine if the cross of Jesus Christ was the most dominant marking of your self-image? You’d know that you are so loved! You’d be so stable and confident! I show you…
I love adrenaline and how it makes me feel energetic, confident, important, even elated. And I get more work done in less time! Adrenaline is one of the body’s natural antidepressants and anti-anxiety agents. It’s truly a wonder drug! Just writing this sentence I’d like to get a hit of that stuff now! It’s difficult…
Putrid smelling dung — that’s what spiritual disciplines become without love. My comment surprised the pastor I was coaching. But I heard Dallas Willard say on a few occasions something like, “The disciplines for life in Christ are not what is important. We make too big a deal about them.” He was concerned about legalism,…
As Christmas approaches it seems we have to go faster and faster! How can we be unhurried? The traffic keeps getting worse. The lines in the stores keep getting longer. We don’t want to miss out on special events, parties, and gathering with family and friends. We have presents to wrap and food to prepare.…
We love being with family for the holidays — or maybe not! It can be stressful! And in some family relationships it’s awkward or uncomfortable. Personalities don’t mesh, or there’s distance or unresolved conflicts. Jesus experienced this. He had conflict in his family too! In my book Your Best Life in Jesus’ Easy Yoke we…
As we celebrate the Prince of Peace we may get robbed of peace! What a tragic irony that would be! Let’s resist the cultural swirl of hurrying here and there and internalizing stress. We can relax… even in December! It’s all about how we react to stress. For instance, I had a conversation with Dallas…