My husband, Alston, had been in the hospital for two weeks of what would become a 57-day hospitalization. It was an emotional day because we thought we would be to the point of moving into a rehabilitation hospital, but it was not so. I took some time to reflect on the two weeks that had gone by and realized I was struggling with a concept that was somewhat foreign to me...receiving help. A major part of my life had consisted of being in the role of helper and I was very much comfortable with that role. But things change when you’re in a hospital setting and you really do need help.
Read MoreThere is a tension in my life, and maybe in yours too. It battles against my desire to live for God. It is a force that drives me away from trusting in Him at all times and towards relying on myself. It damages relationships, brings out insecurities, drives us to manipulate others, and inevitably governs my ability to have an intimate relationship with God and others.
Read MoreIs It Right for You to be Angry?
Last week I said that anger will never completely disappear from our lives this side of heaven, nor should it. There is a time and a place for anger and it will either be our servant or our master. In order for our anger to be our servant, we need to get beyond anger management to anger control. Anger is an emotion, and we do not have direct volitional control over our emotions. We can’t will ourselves to like people we have an emotional hatred for. We can choose to do the loving thing for them even though we don’t like them; but we can’t simply tell ourselves to stop being angry.
Read MoreOne day I am going to die. How’s that for an opening statement? Not a fun thought, no doubt. But it’s a real one. A friend of mine lost a mother over the weekend, and as I have been thinking about her and her family on my drive to Emporia yesterday, I got to thinking about some important things. Things that often only death can get you to think about.
Read MoreThere is a good side and bad side to pride. Webster’s definitions: (bad pride) “An overly-high opinion of oneself; exaggerated self-esteem; conceit; arrogance...”
Read MoreHave you ever been an “also ran?” Have you ever been the one who stands in the background propping up the main players? I suspect that fits most of us better than being the “star player.”
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