We live in a world of conflict. It is on the news every day, nations in conflict with other nations and neighbors living in conflict with each other. We find conflict in or own families. We even find conflict within our churches. Everywhere you turn you find...
If we are honest, I think the majority of us would say we are bored. Not that we don’t have enough to do because we are busy people, but maybe discontent. Maybe it’s the question “what am I doing with my life?” Or, “there has to be more?” Deep in each of us is the...
They call her Addi for short, probably only about 5.1, she can’t weigh more than 100 pounds. Always smiling, humble spirit, she loves people around her well, and she brightens the room because Jesus shines so brightly out of her. She has grown up in the community of...
One of the most important things we did as young children was learning to read. We would be severely handicapped if we had never learned to read. So many things we enjoy doing today we would not be able to do if we had not learned to read words. Think about it. In...
How do you become proficient in anything? As with so many things, the answer is simple but not easy. The path to proficiency is through practice. Reflection is important in peacemaking. Discussion is often helpful in conflict resolution. But in the end practice is the...
When I was in elementary school, our classrooms were heated by a boiler. It would heat water to the point of steam which would then travel through pipes to a radiator and heat the room. This is literally an “old school” method of heating. One day our...
Humor me for a moment. Let’s play a word association game. I’ll say a word and you respond with a word that comes to mind when you hear my word. Ready? Here’s the word: relationship. What comes to mind? The average American would likely associate that word with other...
In the last article, I began an examination of 8 essentials of core human emotions to harness their energy in practicing relational wisdom. There, we saw God’s design in our emotions, their complexity, and how they can drive our behaviors. Let’s turn our attention to...
When I was in high school, I loved and played the game of basketball. In the 1980s, at a small rural school, we still played six-on-six. Yes, six guards and six forwards who stopped at the half-court line. I know. It sounds so archaic. As a basketball player, I found...
Sometimes I look at my life and scratch my head. Lord, what is going on? What are you doing? Do you see what’s happening here? In this life, none of us escape pain, loss, or hardship. But somehow in the loss, the sun keeps rising and days unfold to months unfold to...
