As I’ve developed my own style of writing, teaching, and counseling through the decades, I’ve taken the liberty to integrate much of the very best of what I’ve learned throughout life and have attempted to present it in this book in a manner that is meaningful, practical, and life changing. One final concept I would […]
A few weeks ago, when I was mindlessly surfing the internet just to pass some time, I ran across a very insightful article that seemed to shed light on the necessary uncomfortableness of our journey of growth. A great experiment in the desert called the “biodome” created a living environment for human, plant, and animal life. […]
I’ve sometimes felt that my journey of transformation has been like trying to turn the Titanic. Very intentional. Yet slow and methodical. More than three decades in fact. The beauty of being transformed by Christ into the likeness of Christ is that it’s all about the journey. There’s really not a destination – at least […]
The renewing of our souls will extend no further than our honest acknowledgement of our inner brokenness. PART 4 IN A SERIES The Blind “Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the good news. They don’t […]
Inner brokenness is demonstrated through the lives of human beings in an immeasurable number of ways. In authoring each of our life stories individually, God is fully aware of the generational legacies passed down to us by our families, the complexities of our real-life experiences, and the uniqueness of our inborn, God-given temperament. He alone […]
At this point in our journey, you’re most likely beginning to make significant connections between the experiences of your childhood and the intra- or inter-personal battles of your adult life. To clearly and uniquely consider the solutions we’ll be discussing in detail later in this book, there is one last foundational block that must be […]
In light of the foreboding cultural climate of the early 20th century that we’ve explored, we can’t help but consider factors that may have contributed to the nature of the world we live in today. Natural characteristics such as creativity and vision were subdued by forced compliance. Respect turned into fear. Work ethic became drivenness. […]
A landmark article by the US Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for PTSD explains how the emotional trauma World War II imposed on American men profoundly changed how they functioned as men, husbands, fathers, and citizens. “PTSD can make somebody hard to be with. Living with someone who is easily startled, has nightmares, and […]
As far back as the Mayflower Pilgrims landing on Plymouth Rock in 1620, woven into America’s DNA has been the cultural norm of utilizing shaming as a means of discipline, particularly in the disciple of children. A methodology we in the 21st century have come to perceive as detrimental is what our predecessors considered to […]
Shame that is a product of our acting out is somewhat different than shame that was the precursor to our acting out, although both weeds share the same roots. And shame is often at the core of our struggles with anxiety, depression, and relational issues. As we looked at in detail already, precursor shame leads […]