I am amazed at how often my words, thoughts, or actions are influenced by those around me.  In the 1960’and 1970’s Bandura researched how much of kid’s (and later adult’s) behavior, thoughts and attitudes was influenced by the social context in which they found themselves.  His research was very convincing, and I believed it, however…

Last week, I mentioned that insecurities are often the cause of why I don’t see things from God’s perspective.  For me, the most difficult obstacle to overcome in seeing a situation from God’s perspective is getting “me” out of the way. Most of us struggle with realizing how our own insecurities cause us to miss…

I am always surprised at how often followers of Christ pray more about God making their lives comfortable rather than making them people of good character. As I have heard the prayers at many churches and listened to thousands of individual prayers, clearly, most of what I hear is asking God for physical, relational, or…

In a recent blog, I mentioned that when I was 20 years old, I came to submit my life to God’s plan for my life with 51% believing and 49% doubting.  I made that decision with my heart, soul, and mind to submit to the rule of Christ for living and found freedom and forgiveness…

I have seen it play out so many times over the last fifty years.  Another godly, gifted, and impactful Christian leader confesses after being confronted with a moral lapse that disqualified him/her for ministry.  Too many gifted leaders suffer debilitating moral injuries after they achieve success by choosing to walk into a moral morass.  During…

As you read this, Mary Kay and I will have completed almost four weeks of wandering where we have changed locations eight times across six states. During this time we have had very gracious friends and family who have opened their homes and lives to us.  We have been blessed during the process. There have…

I have spent a large portion of my life being educated, trained, and practicing the scientific method. I have found this very helpful. What is the scientific method? Simply stated, the scientific method identifies the influences that may produce an outcome (variables).  Then, the “scientist” holds (controls) all these variables constant while changing only one…

I have been writing this blog for two years.  I remember the concern I had in starting it because I had struggled with writing much of my life.  I did learn to express myself in writing through years of journaling.  Journaling was a good training ground.  Through over 45 years, I slowly absorbed the value…

The last month has been challenging for several reasons: we brought to close a 37-year season of our lives when we packed our belongings into several PODS and drove away from Orlando. Mary Kay and I experienced many emotions as we recalled events and reminisced on relationships over the past four decades.  It was like…