When someone we love is knocked flat by the myriad challenges of being human, we know better than to kick them while they’re down. Why, then, are we so quick to kick ourselves? Why do we become our own bullies?
Too many of us know how to speak life to our friends, spouses, and children, but don’t have a clue how to speak life to ourselves.
I’m 39 today. I’ve been dreading this birthday. It marks the last gasp of a brutal decade—one that ushered in emotional disorders, chronic physical challenges, spiritual battles, and relational wounding. I just keep thinking: If my 3os were so hard, what am I up against in my 40s? Yet this past month my thoughts have turned to the benefits I’ve reaped… View Post
You woke me this morning with a kiss on the cheek and a whispered, “Happy anniversary. I love you.” Then you went downstairs and made me bacon and coffee. My love language. A year ago we talked of saving up for a big anniversary trip. Our 15th wasn’t an anniversary to let slip by unnoticed. There have been too many… View Post
I almost skipped church on New Year’s Day. It was the last place I wanted to be—surrounded by people, music, and words of hope and redemption. It would all be salt in a wound, but I couldn’t come up with a legitimate excuse to stay home. The worship was relevant, the sermon like an arrow aimed at my cynicism. I… View Post
Two years ago, as October faded to a close, I felt myself fading with it. After a marathon of school, church, birthday, and holiday events, I needed to recharge. That was the beginning of what’s become my annual November Slowdown. Each year, about this time, I step back from the breakneck pace of life and ask myself: Where am I feeling rubbed… View Post