What’s the first thing that pops into your mind when someone tells you, “Don’t think about pink elephants!” Right...pink elephants. That’s why, when you try hard to not feel anxious, you enter a vicious cycle. Dealing with anxiety is like dealing with insomnia. You can’t try your way into a good night of sleep—and you can’t try your way out of worry. What you need is a change of focus. According to Dr. Earl Henslin in This is Your Brain on Joy, your brain contains one neural pathway on which the emotions of either joy or anxiety can travel. There’s literally not room enough for Continue Reading

I’m lying propped up in a dimly lit room, curtained off from the other occupant. Lifting heavy eyelids, I see there’s a man seated beside me. Oh, right, it’s my husband. He’s been here the whole time they worked on me. I went under the knife around 10 a.m., so I think it’s maybe eleven-thirty. I ask what time it is. “Two o’clock,” Scott says. Wait, what? I have no recollection of the recovery room. At all. This whole experience has been bizarre. First, the dawning realization that I’d need to get my hip joint replaced. Then the steps of preparation and planning. Get ahead at Continue Reading

After serving a nearly three-year prison sentence, a pastor in Tajikistan was finally released last year. His crime? Singing “extremist” songs based on Bible passages like Ephesians 6:12. I don’t know what it’s like to go to prison for any reason, let alone for my faith—but I suspect this brother may have been freer during his time in prison than other folks who’ve never been behind bars. Freedom. What comes to mind when you see that word? As Americans, we’re blessed with the ability to worship as we choose, speak freely even when we disagree with the government, and publish our Continue Reading

As she went over my information, the assistant noticed a particular medical issue I’d mentioned in the paperwork. “I’m really curious about this,” she said. “I know someone else who had the same thing, and I’d be interested to hear more about it.” Despite my annoyance at her curiosity, I offered a brief explanation. In hindsight, I wish I’d said something more like, “To be honest, it’s difficult for me to talk about this. I’d rather not go there just to satisfy someone’s curiosity.” Human beings have a tendency to want to know what others are going through---not necessarily to Continue Reading