Thoughts of Mom

Lives on the Periphery

She normally had the beach to herself. She always woke up long before daylight, a habit honed from necessity rather than preference. While others slept, she enjoyed the calm before the chaos of the day began. Long before the sunburns and the sandcastles, before the frisbees flew and kites fluttered, she walked, scanning the Atlantic […]

The Essentials For Healthy Relationships

Three Steps For Avoiding Relational Disaster

The last essential for healthy relationships is a three-step process that will help you avoid relational disasters. Most broken hearts come from trusting people that later turn out to be untrustworthy. We have invested so much of our selves at that point, that ending the relationship is incredibly painful. Many people try to prolong the […]

The Essentials For Healthy Relationships

The Courage to Be Yourself

Many people think that by adopting the opinions and values of another person, they are strengthening their relationship. The more we agree about, the better off we are, right? Not exactly. Agreeing on things is great, but when it comes to relationships, authenticity is more important than similarity. When people don’t have a clear sense […]

Thoughts of Mom

Lives on the Periphery

She normally had the beach to herself. She always woke up long before daylight, a habit honed from necessity rather than preference. While others slept, she enjoyed the calm before the chaos of the day began. Long before the sunburns and the sandcastles, before the frisbees flew and kites fluttered, she walked, scanning the Atlantic […]

Why We Hate Responsibility

The Challenge of Connectedness

A groan went up from the class. It was time for the second major test of the semester, and our professor repeated what she had said prior to the first exam. “You are responsible for the required reading, and that includes all illustrations, their descriptions, and all footnotes.” That meant that every place where ink […]

Seeking Answers and Finding Relationship

How God Exceeds Our Expectations

While studying at seminary, I attended a local church. I enrolled in an evangelism class they offered that would study a curriculum and then go door to door in surrounding neighborhoods. The thought of it terrified me. I am an introvert by nature, and the idea of going to a stranger’s home unannounced seemed incredibly […]

Controlled But Not Ignored

Making the Most of our Emotions

“When I bury my hurt in shame or silence, it begins to fester from the inside out. I feel the pain more acutely, and I suffer even more because of it.”  -Desmond Tutu   My father loved John Wayne movies. I didn’t like them very much at first, but much like bluegrass music, my exposure […]

The Angels Inside

Seeing beyond the brokenness

“I saw the angel in the marble and I carved until I set him free.”   Few artists in history can rival the talent and skill of Michelangelo Buonarroti. His sculptures and paintings adorn some of the most renowned museums and cathedrals in the world. Perhaps Michelangelo’s greatest gift was his vision. Not only were […]

The Way Forward

How Our Differences Make Us Stronger

In his 1858 U.S. Senate campaign Abraham Lincoln quoted Jesus in a speech by saying that, “a house divided against itself cannot stand”. That statement is as profound as it is simple. It was as true for America during that time as it was when Jesus spoke those words to religious leaders almost 2000 years […]