Too many of us get too offended by too many people too much of the time. And that’s a problem, because when we are offended, we become stuck in our recovery. Living in “offended” mode is indicative of a lack of forgiveness, and when you don’t forgive someone, you are letting those who hurt you…
Here’s the problem with anxiety. It always overestimates our problems and underestimates our resources. Jesus said, “Do not worry about your life” (Matthew 6:25. He followed that up with, “Do not worry about tomorrow” (Matthew 6:34). Clearly, Jesus was opposed to anxiety. In some cases, anxiety must be treated clinically. But in most cases, we…
Day 1 – A man walked down a street and fell in a hole. Day 2 – The man walked down the street, saw the hole, but slipped into the hole. Day 3 – The man walked down the street, tried to avoid the hole, but was bumped by someone else and stumbled into the…
In their book, The Power of Moments, Chip and Dan Health describe a fascinating experiment in which participants agreed to subject themselves to painful trials. First, they submerged their hands into a bucket filled with cold, 57-degree water for 60 seconds. In the second trial, the time was increased by 30 seconds. For the first…
By all accounts, Emily Dickinson was a recluse. The famous poet rarely left home. She maintained her few friendships by writing cards back and forth. Still, she found a way to make a difference. Emily Dickinson left her mark – leaving 1,800 poems behind. Among these poems you will find one of the most powerful…
“Jesus came at just the right time” (Romans 5:6). Timing is everything. Yogi Berra said, “You don’t have to swing hard to hit a home run. If you got the timing, it’ll go.” And Buzz Aldrin said, “Timing has always been a key element in my life. I have been blessed to have been in…
We get stuck. That is human nature. It happens to us today, just as it happened in the days of Moses. At a time when his people were crippled by fear and crushed by frustration, God said it was time to get moving. “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Why are you crying out to…
Chris Norton broke his neck while playing college football. He was given a three percent chance of ever moving again. Norton didn’t get sad; he got mad. After months of hard work, he wiggled a toe. Eventually, he was able to get up out of his wheelchair and walk seven feet – down the wedding…
How would you like for every word you have ever spoken to be played back for all your world to hear? Francis Schaeffer once said that if every word we have ever spoken could be played back by a huge recorder, the whole world would go into hiding. From the days of Shakespeare, we have…
Last year, I wrote my tenth recovery book, Recovery Rules. It contains 100 truisms. They are pithy, easy-to-remember statements about recovery. If I could add a 101st rule, this would be it: What you tolerate today will dominate tomorrow. If I tolerate staring at attractive women, those fantasies will dominate my mind tomorrow. If I…