Anxious? What You Can Do About It (Part one of three)

Are you feeling anxious nowadays? Most of us are and for good reason. It’s okay to have anxious thoughts and feelings. I believe Jesus, our Lord, had some anxious moments in Gethsemane and on the cross. The Apostle Paul had his bouts of anxiety during a shipwreck, riots when he was preaching, and during his long imprisonment while awaiting martyrdom. Many of David’s psalms tell of his struggles during threatening situations and how he turned to God to calm his anxious spirit. It is normal to become anxious but to […]

Truth Is

Truth Is…..essential for building trust. This is the case whether you are dealing with people or with a Cuckoo clock. Speaking of Cuckoo clocks, let me tell you about mine. Please indulge me in the event you’ve heard this story before. While visiting Europe in 2011 Cecelia and I decided to buy a cuckoo clock from the Black Forest area. We were enjoying the beautiful scenery along the Rhine river when we came upon this charming German village. After looking at many styles and price ranges of clocks, we decided on […]

The Trust Factor

Today, let’s talk about the Trust Factor. Are we coming apart as a society?  What role does trust or the lack of it play in what appears to be a tearing apart of our nation? What role will you and your family play in making your community and your world a safer place to live?  The Trust Factor is critically important in life. There’s a lot in the news nowadays about trust, or the lack of it, when it comes to our government leaders. Folks all over America are doubtful […]

What Is Your FQ?

What is your FQ? You have an intelligence quotient (IQ). You also have an emotional quotient (EQ). Some folks are emotionally smart, in addition to being very intelligent.   For years we’ve heard that women are more emotionally intelligent than men, we’ll save that discussion for another day. Here’s a neat article, if you want to learn more about IQ and EQ. https://www.ctnewsonline.com/news/faith/article_36597602-cfe5-11eb-b35b-5f468e1b3832.html  While these are important quotients, a good case can be made that your FQ is more essential than either of these to live well in these challenging times. […]

Are You in the Faith?

Are you in the faith? Your answer to this question has eternal ramifications. So, it’s really important that we understand the intent, the meaning of the question. Let me begin by telling you what I’m not asking you about. I’m not asking if you are a religious person. You may attend church regularly, preach, sing in the choir, teach Bible studies, etc., and not be “in the faith.” You may be a good, moral person with an impeccable reputation but not be “in the faith.” All these things may be […]

Love, What Our World Needs Now

Love, What Our World Needs Now.  It may seem presumptuous of me to use a title such as this in my blog. Do I know what the world really needs now? I think I do know what the world, what you and I need now. There are some things most of us want and many of us need. That list includes lower gas prices, a closed southern border, a good immigration policy, an impartial judicial system, lower food, and heating bills, etc. Perhaps there are some personal things, some broken […]

Trust, A Delicate Flower

Webster defines trust as “assured reliance on the character, strength, or truth of someone or something.” Let that sink in a minute. Where do your thoughts take you? Do you have an unreliable vehicle or appliance? One of our greatest needs as human beings is to feel safe with others, to believe another person can be trusted to always want and seek what is best for us. This kind of faith is the glue that makes your marriage and friendships work. Trust in you as their parent is what helps […]

How Can I Change?

How can I change? “I want my daughter to feel better about herself than I did growing up. But how can I help her with that if I don’t feel good about myself?” These are the words of a single mom who had become painfully aware of the destructive toll her anger and immaturity were taking on her daughter. I understood her painful question to mean there was a glimmer of hope for her relationship with her daughter. The weeks of therapy had created an awareness and an uncomfortable level […]

How Do I Change Directions?

How do I change directions? This blog addresses the last of the “Four Important Life Questions” series. There will be one more blog to continue the discussion of this very important question. Thank you for hanging in and doing the hard work required by honestly answering the previous three questions: (1) Where am I?, (2) How did I get to where I am?, and (3) Where am I going? Are you ready to change something about the way you do life? The change may be something small or truly life-altering. […]

Where Are You Going?

Where are you going? What is your destination if you stay on the road you are now traveling on?  Are you going to look back on life and regret bad decisions that set you on a destructive course? Will you wish you had taken a chance or a risk instead of being frozen by fear? Have you, day after day, continued on the broad road of least effort or resistance, giving little thought to where the road would end? Does this sound familiar? Is this what Jesus had in mind […]