We just discussed the importance of living with yourself. However, your behavior with and toward others is just as important in building self-respect. And I have discovered that our interactions with other people often reveal unexpected, self-centered behavior. My Trip with a Good Friend Several years ago, a mission organization executive for whom I had …
Monthly Archives: August 2020
65806 6. How Are You Using Your Words?
The use of words is the most common subject that comes up when people come to see me for counseling. With words, we compliment and praise one another. Our words can be comforting, helpful, supportive, and instructive, revealing all the good things that are on our mind. At the same time, words can cut, hurt, …
65807 7. Are Your Feelings and Emotions Positive or Negative?
A friend of mine was the supervisor of summer volunteers for a mission organization. He shared this story with me that illustrates that how we respond to our life situations really does make all the difference in the world. He assigned two couples to different areas of an island populated with disadvantaged people. Each couple …
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65808 8. What’s in Your Head?
What goes on in your head is the most private part of your inner life. The longer I work with people, the more convinced I am that everyone can and does control his or her own mind. We make our own decisions, and no one can change them. Power to Choose Here are some areas …
65809 9. Goals
I’m firmly convinced that the goals we set for ourselves account for one of the most crucial factors of all in helping us to experience happiness. Goals bring life into focus. They give meaning and purpose to life. But they must all be grounded in God’s plans and purposes. Climbing Mt. Whitney I have a …
65810 10. Marriage and Parenting
I have found that there is nothing that seems to affect our happiness more than our close relationships, specifically those of marriage and parenting. Your marriage partner is typically more intimately involved in your life than anyone else and your children usually run a close second. However, it is important to remember that how we …
65811 11. Happiness – It’s Your Choice!
Our happiness is not something that happens to us. It is something you and I have control over. God’s Word has so much to teach us about how we can make choices that will help us to experience not only his perfect plan for our lives, but his peace and joy and contentment. This book …
32582 Obeying to Get a Blessing
Why did the Israelites repeatedly worship other gods, even after experiencing God’s dramatic deliverance from Egypt through plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, and food falling from heaven in the desert? Perhaps they wanted more control. The appeal of an idol is its simplicity. If you follow the rules, you can expect to get …
32583 Obeying to Fulfill Duty
When signing up for a new account online, have you ever read the small print statement before clicking the “I accept” button? The authors of those documents try to cover every possible contingency. Imagine, then, if the Christian life was similar and had a rule for every scenario a person could ever face. How thick …
32584 Obeying to Avoid Punishment
Jesus said that He “came that [those who follow him] may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10, NASB). Living to just not get in trouble, however, is pretty far from abundant life. Imagine a teacher whose ideal student is simply one who doesn’t get sent to the principal’s office. We would question whether that teacher …