How Can I Change?

How can I change? “I want my daughter to feel better about herself than I did growing up. But how can I help her with that if I don’t feel good about myself?” These are the words of a single mom who had become painfully aware of the destructive toll her anger and immaturity were taking on her daughter. I understood her painful question to mean there was a glimmer of hope for her relationship with her daughter. The weeks of therapy had created an awareness and an uncomfortable level […]

How Do I Change Directions?

How do I change directions? This blog addresses the last of the “Four Important Life Questions” series. There will be one more blog to continue the discussion of this very important question. Thank you for hanging in and doing the hard work required by honestly answering the previous three questions: (1) Where am I?, (2) How did I get to where I am?, and (3) Where am I going? Are you ready to change something about the way you do life? The change may be something small or truly life-altering. […]

Where Are You Going?

Where are you going? What is your destination if you stay on the road you are now traveling on?  Are you going to look back on life and regret bad decisions that set you on a destructive course? Will you wish you had taken a chance or a risk instead of being frozen by fear? Have you, day after day, continued on the broad road of least effort or resistance, giving little thought to where the road would end? Does this sound familiar? Is this what Jesus had in mind […]

How Did You Get To Where You Are?

How did you get to where you are? In my last blog, I raised the question, “where are you?” Hopefully, you’ve given some serious thought to what it is that is causing some real discomfort and pain in your relationships or other areas of your life. You know that getting that problem resolved would make life much more pleasant and easier for you. You may think you know the problem, but where do you start to fix it? This could come as a surprise to you, but what you think […]

Where Are You?

Where are you? This is the first important life-question you must think deeply about and understand if you are to make the changes necessary to get you to a better place in life. In order to plan a new course, to change direction, you must deal with the reality of the here and now. Thus, the first question. Where are you?  Let me explain what I mean by this question. So far as I know, the first recorded instance of this question was God’s question to Adam in the Garden […]

Longing for the “Good Ole Days”

While considering what to share with you today I ran across a piece of commentary by Paul Harvey (1919-2009). Harvey was the guest speaker at my graduation from Belmont in 1966 but is better- known for his radio broadcasts for over a half-century. He specialized in telling “The Rest of The Story.” He took the basics of a news event or story and  went behind the scene to explain the extraordinary details of human sacrifice and compassion which were not part of the news; thus, “The Rest of the Story.” […]

Success or Failure

How does your child handle success or failure?  Is there any connection to how you handle success or failure? Your child’s view of his performance in school, sports, music, relationships and various other pursuits affects the way he sees himself. Obviously, if your child is able to have some level of accomplishment in these areas he gains confidence and, therefore, tends to feel good about himself. Over time the ability to accomplish may lead to venturing out into more challenging pursuits. All children like to accomplish and the feelings of […]

What is Parenting About?

What is Parenting About? Perhaps the most central question we need to ask ourselves as parents is: “What is parenting really about?” In other words, what is the main role or central purpose I, the parent, need to fulfill in relation to this child that has been entrusted to me? Unfortunately, for some reason, this may be an area of concern which some parents never consciously consider. Many are so caught up with their personal agendas and the busyness of life that they don’t take time to talk about, much […]

Parenting and The Trust Factor

Do you realize your parenting affects the trust factor in your marriage? One of the most important areas in which trust is built or destroyed in marriage is how you deal with your children. Having children, for most couples, is the easy part. Rearing those children to become healthy, responsible people is not so easy. Let’s face it; children are expensive and can be a lot of work if you do child rearing as you should. There was a time in our country when the basic idea was that the […]

How Dependable Are You?

How dependable are you? The way in which you keep your word and do, or neglect to do, what you are supposed to do affects trust in your marriage. One word that aptly describes the idea I’m getting at is dependability. This is not so much about deliberately lying or misleading your spouse but whether or not he/she can depend on you to do what you’ve agreed to do. Dependability covers a broad range of issues: faithfulness, truthfulness, and all the little things husbands and wives do to make their […]