Jul 19, 2018 | Abuse, Anger, Bitterness, Depression, Difficult people, Disappointment, discouragement, Emotional Health, Family, Forgiveness, friendship, Loneliness, Relationships, Stress
“Lord, I’m hurting this morning.” Ever prayed that prayer before, or some version of it? I’m not talking about physical pain here—rather, about emotional pain. Especially the variety that issues from disappointing relationships. You know, the kind of pain that feels...
Jul 5, 2018 | Anger, Anxiety, Depression, Emotional Health, Perfectionism, Stress
I am a recovering perfectionist. It was circa 1997. I was in a pre-service prayer room, getting ready to speak to a group of about one hundred teenagers. I was pleading with God for twenty agonizing minutes to help me, use me; praying like I was trying to wrench...
Jun 14, 2018 | Anger, Bitterness, Depression, Difficult people, Emotional Health, Family, Forgiveness, friendship, Relationships, Uncategorized
Do you struggle with the F-word? The last two weeks we’ve been looking at the subject of getting a grip on our anger and learning how to express it in a healthier way. You can’t talk about anger very long without wandering into the minefield of forgiveness. Ugh....
Jun 7, 2018 | Anger, Bitterness, Depression, Difficult people, Emotional Health, Forgiveness, Relationships
We live in an angry world. The age of outrage. In last week’s blog, 5 Things Everyone Needs to Know About Anger, we considered five basics we have to understand: Anger is part of the human experience Anger often involves emotional residue Anger can be the right...
May 31, 2018 | Anger, Bitterness, Depression, Emotional Health
We live in an angry world. The age of outrage. Is it just me, or do people in general seem angrier than ever? A husband remarked to his wife one day, “When I get mad at you, you never fight back. How do you control your anger? His wife replied, “I clean the toilet.”...
May 17, 2018 | Anger, Burnout, Depression, discouragement, Emotional Health, Fatigue, Ministry Leader, Missionary, Pastor, Pastor's Spouse, Rest, Stress, Uncategorized, Workaholism
“John I’m feeling depressed.” In my line of work, I often hear those words. Having experienced major depression two decades ago, when someone tells me they’re feeling depressed, I wonder: are they having a couple of bad days in a row—or are they dealing with...
