Live Wise | Live Well
Do you question what it takes to grow in wisdom? Do you find yourself doubting that YOUR life could reflect and amplify godly wisdom or wonder if you can experience the peace and blessings of being on the right path? Moses sought a “heart of […]
It’s no surprise that our hearts are hurting. Current events in the world and recent social and political turmoil in America have left many feeling confused, angry, and brokenhearted. It seems everywhere we turn there is criticism, argument, and overwhelming fear or negativity. And it […]
This Sunday is called “Sanctity of Life Sunday.” It was enacted by President Ronald Reagan in 1983- the official proclamation can be found here.
His words were heartfelt and haunting: “These children, over tenfold the number of Americans lost in all our Nation’s wars, will never laugh, never sing, never experience the joy of human love; nor will they strive to heal the sick, or feed the poor, or make peace among nations. Abortion has denied them the first and most basic of human rights, and we are infinitely poorer for their loss.
We are poorer not simply for lives not led and for contributions not made, but also for the erosion of our sense of the worth and dignity of every individual. To diminish the value of one category of human life is to diminish us all. Slavery, which treated Blacks as something less than human, to be bought and sold if convenient, cheapened human life and mocked our dedication to the freedom and equality of all men and women. Can we say that abortion — which treats the unborn as something less than human, to be destroyed if convenient — will be less corrosive to the values we hold dear?”
Now we stand at the 44th anniversary of the Roe v Wade decision and it is estimated that since that historical ruling, 59-60 Million children have been aborted. But who knows the millions MORE that have been performed before these procedures were legalized and tracked?
This 2016 political season has been hard on all of us. Most of us never anticipated just how nasty it would become through the campaigning, debates, and the daily onslaught of media coverage. My stomach is sick and I can only imagine yours is too. It […]
We all want to feel alive and growing in our faith, knowing and understanding God in a deeper way, secure enough in Him to weather the many storms of life, and still see evidence of this health in our relationship with God and others. But […]
One of the most damaging words I ever heard growing up was not a curse word, a name, or anything derogatory, it was something intended to encourage and spur me on towards hard work and self-discipline. But an unfortunate consequence of using this word in this context created a prison of which I still am trying to break free.
Perfect.
It was third grade and our teacher initiated a reward system to encourage good behavior– it was a small gold trophy with a plate stating “Student of the Week” given to one who exhibited the best behavior of all their peers. This was before participation awards and the over-praising of children that we see in society today. A trophy back in 1982 meant you did something awesome, something truly noteworthy. And I wanted one. BAD.
Each Friday afternoon at 2:45, we students sat with rapt attention, hearts pounding, hoping to hear our name called.
Week after week, my name wasn’t called. But I could usually recall an instance where I spoke out of turn, failed to follow directions, or had an issue with a fellow classmate. And since I could identify those infractions, I only worked harder the next week to ensure I didn’t repeat those same mistakes.
We were “bosom buddies.” She and I attended church together and school as well. My mother tells stories of how we met in the crib in the nursery at church. Every special childhood memory of mine has her somewhere involved in it. We were the kind […]
Few things get me roiled quite like a good ol’ church bashing blog post by someone claiming to be a former leader, teacher, elder, or God-forbid a pastor that has become disenchanted by their church for some reason or another. This type of blog rears its […]
“You’re terrible at this. Why are you here? Why are you doing this again? Don’t you realize you are seconds away from major embarrassment? You know what people are thinking, right- you’re okay, but you’ll never be as good as ___________- you’re just not good enough. You never will be. Just give it up. Don’t walk away. RUN!”
Those are some of the comments I hear from my own worst critic – my Self. And they are horrible. They are rooted in pride, comparison, perception, and fear. We would never say any of these things to our spouse, friend, co-worker, or child, yet we get by with saying the most devastating things to our own selves. It’s like an inner bully that recognizes our weaknesses, but we feel overpowered and overwhelmed so, we just take it and take it and take it.
Recently I asked readers who they believed was their worst critic. Surprisingly, most people admitted that they are their OWN worst critic! Sure, there were a few who felt greater criticism from a spouse, boss, or mother-in-law, but a majority of people admitted that they regularly put themselves through their own mental wringer.
My mother worked at a miserable job for ten years. She described her boss as an arrogant, unhappy man as she was subject to humiliation and horrific verbal abuse, expected to operate then-new computers with absolutely no training, often suppressed her physical needs for breaks […]
