Purpose, Identity and Encouragement
Real encouragement includes helping someone find their purpose in this world, i.e., helping them figure out what God created them to be and to do. Coffee cups come in all shapes and sizes. Tall, short, fat, skinny, plain or ornate. Some are fancy and expensive, some are common and inexpensive. For coffee drinkers, […]
My Hope is not in any “ism”
Man-made ideologies always seem to break down at some point. But there are some eternal truths which have withstood the test of time. My hope is in those truths. I watched a movie with a small group of friends recently about the persecution of Christians in formerly communist Romania. It was heart wrenching. […]
The Path Back to Relationship is Paved with Words
Words can be cheap, for sure. But words spoken from the heart can also be unbelievably powerful, either to destroy relationships or to build them back up. Remember this little ditty from your childhood? Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. Our parents and teachers told us […]
Encouragement for a New Normal
Real encouragement is much more than mere positivity. It is grounded in what is real. Sometimes that means helping us embrace what “good” looks like in a new normal. There are life events and circumstances that change our entire trajectory. Whatever our direction and goals were before, suddenly they must necessarily change. It […]
Using Our Voice for Good
You can use your voice to point out the ignorance and foolishness of the person on the other side of the issue, or you can use your voice to build healthy, productive relationships to actually resolve the issue. But you cannot do both. I suppose it is misplaced hope on our part. Or […]
A Cliffhanger: Where We Learn to Reconcile
One of the most important skills we can demonstrate to the children in our lives is how to reconcile in a way that actually transforms a relationship. The number one indicator of how I am most likely to respond to conflict in my adult life is how I saw conflict responded to by […]
Seek Relationships that Speak Truth into You
In our current culture, people who speak the truth to us are hard to find. When you have an opportunity to deepen a relationship with a truth-teller in your life, take it! What we say to participants in One Another Project is, choose those relationships in your life that are important to you […]
Being the Voice of Peace
In a divided culture of “us versus them”, being the friend who encourages reason and peace may be risky, but the rewards are enormous. I’m pretty confident that your Facebook feed of all your friends’ posts and comments doesn’t look all that different from mine. Aside from the occasional dog/cat video, much of […]
Friends Bearing Gifts
When it comes to quality of the friends and family in your life, you have more control than you might think. Have you ever received a gift from someone and you just knew deep down that it was not to be trusted? Maybe it was a friend or family member who just wanted […]
The Puzzle of “Who Am I?”
While the puzzle of “who am I?” is yours to piece together, don’t be fooled by friends, family, tribes or even your own feelings. There is a truer source for your identity than any of those. His father told him he was a shepherd. And that had certainly become his reality…one in which […]