Life Issues
Whenever a disappointment in life remains unresolved, a thin layer of pain is formed over the heart. Over time, and as more and more layers of pain are added, the heart grows heavier and harder. Eventually, a person ends up with a heart of stone.
Anyone or anything that attempts to penetrate its exterior is met with harsh, cold rage. These disappointments range in size—from smaller ones, such as a mom forgetting to give their child a promised ice cream cone, to larger ones like a dad telling a child that he is ashamed of them and wished you had never been born.
But even after a lifetime of mismanaged disappointments that have turned into anger, there’s hope to calm anger.
The actual object of anger must be confirmed. Most of the stuff that creates anger isn’t what a person is furious about. Those are just the triggers that set in motion the wheels of angry behavior. A driver might falsely accuse some out-of-control motorist of their anger when, in fact, it often goes much deeper than that. (more…)
Life Issues
On New Year’s Day, we are excited to set New Year’s resolutions and accomplish them. But within 30 days, most of us quit.
We’re initially looking forward to doing whatever it takes to reach our resolutions. But as reality sets in, we become less and less excited. It’s hard work to meet our goals—many of us give up on them altogether.
Is there a way we can accomplish our New Year’s resolutions and make them stick? Yes, absolutely! We can learn three principles from farming.
Get rid of contaminants. (more…)
Life Issues
“We don’t always have to be strong or pretend to be perfect.” – Steve Arterburn
Perfectionism and addiction go hand in hand. Those of us who struggle with addiction can be extremely hard on ourselves. We don’t give ourselves any room for mistakes, and it’s easy for us to procrastinate or give up because we’re afraid of not being good enough.
When things don’t go perfectly as planned, some of us use it as an excuse to go back to addiction. (more…)
Addiction/Recovery
Have you taken an inventory of your life? The purpose of taking an inventory of your life is to face the truth about yourself. Truth is the opposite of denial. By putting the truth in writing, you demonstrate that you are ready to break free from the patterns and behaviors of denial.
But taking an inventory isn’t easy. Facing the truth is painful because you must also face the reality of what you have lost in your life due to your shortcomings. It’s never easy to look at your deceits, abuses, shame, and disappointments. But even though this is a time of discomfort, know that the steps of recovery will lead you to humility and to live a life full of happiness. It may not feel that way as you work on your inventory, but those who have made the journey before you will testify to that truth.
When Jesus came to earth, He brought with Him “grace and truth” (John 1:14, ESV). Here’s how the New Living Translation puts it: (more…)