Today's sexuality is akin to selecting a jelly bean -- we pick and choose our sexual orientation based on how we feel. Even so,  there's one sexual option that stands out as shockingly unusual in our culture.     I'm not talking about sex change operations, or homosexuality or bi-sexuality. Nor am I talking about heterosexual monogamy in marriage, though many no longer see this as the norm any more.   No, I'm referring to the choice some have made to celebrate healthy manhood or womanhood in the context of being celibate.   In other words, they've chosen to Continue Reading

Are you a hoarder? I'm not talking about rooms stacked to the ceiling with ancient newspapers. I'm wondering ... do you hoard and hide the burdens of your soul?    Here's a simple test to discover whether you trust others:   Do you wait until you are utterly desperate before you talk about a problem? When you do talk, is it to only one person? Do you swear that person to secrecy? If so, you might be a burden-hoarder.   Hoarding means to collect and amass items you can't bear to part with. The motive is fear. Hoarding is a sickness.   It Continue Reading

This one's for my fellow bloggers.   If you're anything like me, you may be a little frustrated with this whole trying-to-be-a-writer thing.   On the one hand, writing inspires you to the point of being driven.  Your ideas keep you awake at night. You can't not write, and you know it.   You have an important message burning in your soul.   On the other hand, it may seem that no matter how much you write, there's so much competition and distraction in the world that no one is paying attention to your stuff.   You pour out your soul, then click "publish" ..... Continue Reading

Perfect timing. For three weeks, we've been talking about Western cultural values and how they negatively impact our relationships. Now Christmas looms. No other season brings out the best and the worst in us quite like this one. But there's good news. The deepest darkness makes the best contrast for light. So let's come up with creative ways to counter-act these undesirable traits: consumerism, materialism, pleasure/entertainment-dependency, pain-avoidance, image-sensitivity, information-addiction, productivity-driven, utilitarianism, and entitlement.   1. Contentment vs. Continue Reading