Nobody wants to be a wimp. You like the idea of being the hero who saves the day, right? Me, too. Courage is an important virtue. Without it, we fail to stand up for ourselves and others. We let evil rule while we run for cover. Remember the beginning of "It's a Wonderful Life," starring Jimmy Stewart? Clarence, the angel assigned to help George Bailey, wants to know what George is struggling with. "Is he sick?" he queries. "Worse," comes the reply. "He's discouraged." Or the moment in "Toy Story" when Buzz Light Year realizes he is Continue Reading
Search Results for: Why Giving Up
Why Can’t I Give Advice if I Know Good Stuff?
So, embarrassing story ... I'm at Bible study, and the leader is explaining that when we share our prayer requests at the end of the evening, it's not a time to give advice. "Women love to jump in and try to help each other," she explains, "but let's just pray for each other." Right, I'm thinking. Got it. Yet an hour later, after we've prayed, I lean over to the woman who had shared a health concern and ask if she's heard of this one nutritional supplement I've had some success with. Oops! Apparently, I couldn't just leave it at prayer. Timing isn't my only issue when it Continue Reading
Increase Your Joy This Thanksgiving
Our children are some of the best gifts we will ever receive … but we often miss the joy that could be ours as parents. As I tried on clothes in the changing rooms of a department store recently, I couldn’t help but tune in to the conversation between a mother and little girl in a nearby stall. “Oh, come on. Stop doing that…I’m not going to dress you for the rest of your life, you know. Don’t do it that way. Oh, hurry up. I told you, stop that!” were some tidbits from Mom. Predictably, the little girl’s replies to her irate mother became more defensive and high-pitched every minute. “I’m Continue Reading
To “Boo” or not to “Boo” (What’s a Parent to Do?)
A brief stroll around my neighborhood reveals something ironic: we’ve all just finished sweeping the nasty cobwebs off our shrubs just in time to replace them with much larger, fake ones! Over the years, I’ve been all over the map on Halloween. When our kids were very young, we allowed them to go trick-or-treating. Then, due to information circulating about the pagan roots of Halloween and dark practices associated with it, we opted out and took our boys to church harvest parties, where they could dress up, play games and get a sack full of candy. (Turns out, Halloween is not the Continue Reading
