I grew up with a terrible self-image. My family was poor, I was skinny, I had dyslexia and other learning challenges. As a result, I felt insecure, incompetent and inadequate. It has taken a lifetime to moderate those initial childhood self-evaluations. As a result, I know...
Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to our relationships. What we don’t know about ourselves can hurt us. And, it can keep us in the shallows with God. We all develop coping strategies to help us deal with our own perceived inadequacies. Depending on our...
When Jesus' disciples asked Him to teach them to pray, He gave them what has come to be known as “The Lord’s Prayer,” which has a specific order to it. In principle, here is what He taught His disciples: Hallow (revere) God as your loving heavenly Father. Our...
Tim Russert told this story, sent to him by an adult daughter wanting to honor her elderly father, in his heartwarming book, The Wisdom of Our Fathers. My dad loved the fact that he had two daughters, And although we were by no means wealthy, he...
“Hope springs eternal in the human breast.” This sentiment, expressed by Alexander Pope nearly 300 years ago, is never more apparent than at the New Year. The New Year is viewed as a time of new beginnings… a time when we can put behind us the memories...
There are five fundamental elements of a story. 1. A hero who is good. 2. A villain who is bad. 3. A conflict between the two. 4. The hero wins the conflict. 5. The hero lives happily ever after. The interesting thing is, these five elements outline the story of human...
I confess that I do not naturally see God as a close-at-hand, loving heavenly Father. By nature, I tend to see him more as distant and preoccupied. The reason, I suspect, is because of the relationship I had with my earthly father. My father was...
Psalm 90:14 says, “Satisfy me in the morning with your lovingkindness that I may sing for joy and be glad all my days.” Passages like this often seem as though they were written for super-saints. Singing for joy and being glad are not natural for many Christians. We are...
Years ago, the United Negro College Fund had a well-known advertising slogan: “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.” I always thought that was a powerful and compelling slogan. And while it is true for college students, it is true for anyone and everyone. A...
When you’re young, you tend to think you’re invincible and immortal. There is an inclination to live for the “here and now,” and assume that the future will take care of itself. As you get older, it gradually dawns on you that that’s not the case....