Saved And Excited My own experience with spiritual abuse happened when I was in my twenties and early thirties. I had come to Christ when I was 18, during the Jesus People Movement in the early Seventies (what Time magazine called the Jesus Revolution). I started going to a Christian coffeehouse begun by a man … Read more
What Is Spiritual Abuse? It’s called by different names: spiritual abuse, church hurt, religious trauma. But regardless of its label, its consequences can be catastrophic. Switching churches provides a change of scenery but often does little to bring healing, so victims sit and suffer in silence. For others, the experience is so painful that it … Read more
Nowhere To Go? This weekend we had a really nice visit with some family members. One of them was Aunt Theresa. She’s my wife’s aunt (does that make her my aunt-in-law?) Anyway, we asked if she could stay for a bit, and her response was, “I’ve got nowhere to go and all day to get … Read more
Where I Was Sitting The other day I was reading my Bible, as I do every morning. I have a daily reading plan from Our Daily Bread Ministries that I follow, which takes me through the entire Bible in a year. To add some variety, each year I use a different Bible translation, and this … Read more
Is A Smile Your Style? Remember the musical “Annie”? It tells the story of an orphan during the Great Depression, a time when there certainly wasn’t much to smile about. One of the highlights is a musical number titled “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile.” The chorus goes, “Who cares what they’re wearing on … Read more
What Should I Do? Shortly before Covid hit in 2020, I began thinking about retirement. I’d been working for decades in children’s ministry, teaching in a Christian school and Sunday School and VBS, and I was getting tired. My energy level and my patience were not what they once were (and if you know anything … Read more
Letting Go Of What’s Holding You Back “The space in which we live should be for the person we are becoming now, not for the person we were in the past.” ~ Marie Kondo Marie Kondo is an organization expert. Her mission is to bring order to people’s lives by helping them let go of … Read more
Why Christianity? The world is a big melting pot, and there are lots of good things which come from that. We share ideas, customs, and food with people from around the globe. These things enrich our lives. Yet because of this mix of cultures, Christian views of God and His plans are being challenged. It’s … Read more
Who I Am In Christ Series, Part 7 If you have been following this series, I hope by now you realize that as God’s creation, you are something special. I struggled with this for many years. Even though I was a born-again, Spirit-filled Christian, I believed that I was flawed and incomplete. Because of … Read more
“As A Man Thinks In His Heart, So Is He.” –Proverbs 23:7 I am always fascinated by the latest research about the brain. Scientists are discovering more and more about this amazing creation of God! We are learning that our minds are incredibly adaptable. For years people believed that our mindset was fixed and unchanging, … Read more