Is it possible that God wants to use our pain, even our self-inflicted agony and depression, to make us stronger and better rather than weaker and bitter? Is it possible that God can take whatever we surrender to Him, even our mess, and turn it into a miracle when we cry out for His help? What if God’s blessings sometimes come disguised as difficulties? Depression doesn’t sit well on me, but as hard as I try, sometimes it covers me... Read more
People who constantly stress about what-ifs are problematic because they typically go to a place of worry that is unproductive and relationally draining. Stressing about what might be different today if you had done something different yesterday is pointless. None of us can change anything about our past. We can and should learn from our experiences, but we cannot alter anything about what happened. So, imagining a thousand “what ifs” is futile and fruitless. What if I hadn’t married that person?... Read more
More teenagers die from suicide than from cancer, birth defects, heart disease, pneumonia, and influenza—combined. In fact, suicide is the second leading cause of death for ages 10-24. One source reports that for students in grades 7-12, there are over 5,000 suicide attempts each day in our nation. Let that number sink in for a moment. That’s over 200 attempts every hour of every day. When I read the recent story of an 11-year-old boy named Tysen who hanged himself,... Read more
Our way of life is far from perfect on this side of eternity. The unmasked and naked truth about humans is that you and I consistently struggle with our old nature, which is nothing like our new nature in Jesus. We’re all broken. We all fail. We all cheat. We all lie. We all pretend. We all say one thing and do another. All of us. Of course, we don’t always fail, and we might even go an hour or... Read more
Relationships make life worth living despite stress or a less-than-fun situation. The importance of relationships cannot be overstated. There you have it. I said it. And I stand by it. We find love, acceptance, and joy when sharing life with other humans. Communicating, sharing, and loving someone who chooses to do the same in return is exhilarating. I love my dog and value his unconditional affection, but he doesn’t mean as much to me as my wife does. (Sorry, Oscar.)... Read more
The desire to be liked and approved by others runs deep in most of us—maybe all of us. We are wired to connect with other humans and made to be in meaningful relationships. And when we know or sense that someone in our sphere of influence doesn’t like us, it hurts. From the time we start school as young children, we do whatever we can to gain the acceptance and approval of others. If we’re nerdy, we play the smart... Read more
Many things in the Bible are not as black and white as we would like. You may come from an extremely fundamental, conservative background where you were taught certain things as biblical truth, but they were theological opinions and possibly the traditions of men. For example, I grew up in a church that taught that drinking, smoking, dancing, and masturbation are evil. Are they? Anything in excess (including too much television or gaming) can be hurtful, but many things in... Read more
Sometimes, failure stares me in the face and seems to mock my very existence. In the quiet moments lying in bed long before sunrise, when there is nothing and no one to distract me, I wrestle with a thousand regrets. There are no ruminations of suicide because that would only add failure to failure, but I often pray, “Jesus, You can take me home anytime You want.” My dad used to irritate me when he’d say, “There’s no rest for... Read more
Divorce is costly. Though not an unpardonable sin, when we fail at marriage, we will experience the consequences of our choices to some degree. Very little, if anything, entirely remains the same. Unfortunately, when you are unhappy and unsatisfied in a marriage, for whatever reason, and then you find yourself in love and thrilled with a new relationship, you rarely stop to zoom out and consider all the consequences. And the losses are often high relationally, physically, emotionally, and financially. I... Read more
Christians, like all humans, are far from perfect and subject to the same idiocy as anyone with a pulse. We fail frequently. We say some dumb things. We set high standards for everyone and then drop the ball. And I say we because I am a Christian. So, I am not casting any stones at others. I hate the things that are sometimes true about me. Though I don’t hate anyone, I do struggle with the way we are as Christians at times.... Read more
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