There is no doubt that anxiety has taken over our culture. According to “The Anxious Generation,” anxiety is not relegated to America alone, but to every culture where the pocketed smartphone is the norm. Though not written from a Christian worldview, the author’s research highlights the increasing levels of depression and anxiety in the …
Reframing Past Trauma
Trauma is part of living in a sin-filled world. Trauma can take the form of events seemingly small or catastrophic. For children, small experiences never discussed could leave fearful questions in their minds that follow them into adulthood. Trauma lingers when it remains unresolved and unhealed. Symptoms of lingering trauma might take the form of …
Refining by Praise
Bright, happy faces next to schools are again populating my social media feed. The school year is kicking off and most families eagerly fit the routines back into place. This new year will bring good and bad, learning and maturity, struggles and frustrations. Daily interactions with teachers and other students will challenge your child to …
Use the Last Straw to Light the Sacrifice
Have you heard Christian comedian and singer Mark Lowry's story about how he knew when his mother had ENOUGH? If you need a laugh, you can find it here. Mark wished for a ten-second warning for when Mama had enough. It is a light-hearted look from a child’s perspective, but every mother can …
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Aligning With the Enemy or Overcoming Him?
The enemy wins when we engage others with his own tactics. Angry, hateful accusations tread on his territory. Election season must be a fruitful season for his work to be accomplished, but no special occasion is necessary. Gossip, criticism, and disrespectfulness can become daily habits in our homes and churches. Election season will just magnify …
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Meditations in the Fire’s Forging
Real faith upends the pre-conceptions of who Jesus is from the tiny box of human expectation and understanding. The apostle Peter and the other eleven walked the crucible of disappointment as Jesus revealed Himself to the world, not as the reigning Messiah, but as the suffering Servant. Those three black days of Jesus’ silent occupation …
Promoting Pro-Abundant Life In The Church
If churches that say they are pro-life want to encourage women and those significant in their lives to choose life instead of an abortion, a pro-abundant life community within the church must be established. According to a 2017-2019 Center for Disease Control’s National Survey of Family Growth, even women attending church monthly kept appointments with …
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Happy Best Friends Day!
Life offers up some lonely places at times. Our family has moved so many times, I refuse to count anymore. With each tearing up of roots comes new growth opportunities, but it does take time to build new friendships. It also takes intention. As I read the story of Jonathan and David yesterday, I was …
Intentionally Thinking on Jesus
Do your thoughts ever seem to get locked in the negative? Critical, anxious, painful thoughts that swirl over and over in your mind? It takes intentionality to redirect those thought patterns. I was listening to a podcast about a woman who lost her daughter as a teenager. She and her family knew the Lord, but …
Capturing the Rebels
A Biblical Counseling Study #6 Photo by Horacio Lander on Pexels.com A friend and I were discussing depression and anxiety thisweek. We acknowledged that truly, the feelings of depression and anxiety are asymptom of another problem. No one chooses to feel panicky and sleepless orweepy and exhausted. If our bodies were a car, the symptoms …
His Song in the Night 