Storm Surge

As I was trying, and failing, to write this week's post I became aware that I was feeling frustrated and noticed thoughts likeI shouldn't write about grief two weeks in a row. Anthony's birthday and deathday are both past. I should move on to a different topic. Well hello there, Denial. Didn't I just write …

Grieving on Purpose

October the 10th was the two year anniversary of the day my little brother, Anthony, died. He was only 24 years old, and just barely that. His birthday was Oct. 5th. That's him, in the photo, when we celebrated his 16th birthday I believe. Last week I thought about interrupting the Fear of Worthlessness series …

Implications

Fear of Worthlessness (Part 4) So far in this series we've explored how the fear of being worthless drives us into all kinds of ineffective and ultimately harmful attempts to create value for ourselveshow radically accepting our inability to make ourselves valuable opens the door to accepting value from an outside sourceand how God, Jesus, …

The Source

(Fear of Worthlessness Part 3) Last week I made you angry by saying you're worthless. We all are. By ourselves we cannot dredge up enough usefulness or goodness to generate a value capable of withstanding our inevitable failures. Our first reaction to this reality is rebellion.I won't let this be true! I'll make myself valuable …

Rebellion or Radical Acceptance

(Fear of Worthlessness Part 2) I hope after last week's post you've started to notice which of your beliefs, thoughts, feelings, and actions are driven by fear of worthlessness, and how it is affecting your relationships with God and others. How can we respond to this fear when we recognize it and stop letting it …

Thomas the Tank Engine and Humanity’s Greatest Fear

Image Source (Part 1) Last week the topic of patience prompted an in depth look at misconceptions we hold about God's character and the fear those misconceptions produce in us. Specifically the fear of asking God for help because we think the kind of help he might give us will hurt. Living in fear of …

Don’t Pray For Patience

This Summer I sent a series of emails aimed at encouraging people to submit requests and come for prayer during services at my church by exploring what motivates us to pray and what creates road-blocks to connecting with God through prayer. This post is adapted from one of those emails. Last week we talked about …

Wait for it…Waaaait for iiiit…

This Summer I sent a series of emails aimed at encouraging people to submit requests and come for prayer during services at my church by exploring what motivates us to pray and what creates road-blocks to connecting with God through prayer. This post is adapted from one of those emails. Since I volunteer on the …

What to do with Fear

You can be scared and do the scary thing at the same time. Since I started this blog by confessing the fear and insecurity I felt (uh...feel) about actually starting this blog it seems appropriate to begin talking about what to do with fear. A little background information for you - At my church I …