In your pursuit of change, how’s your motivation level? For many who are trying unsuccessfully to leave unwanted sexual behaviors, low motivation is a significant problem. So how can you increase how motivated you are? With just one word. To discover if this one word can help you, you first need to ask yourself why you’re trying to change. Why are you...
Held
Maybe when it’s all said and done, this is why I follow Jesus—why I’m a Christian. Because Jesus came in the flesh, died and rose in the flesh, ascended in the flesh, and will return for us in the flesh. Because underneath so much of my trying, I’m a little boy whispering, “Will you hold me? I love it in your arms.
Identity, Image, and Instagram
We compare our monotonous, humdrum or even dark, painful moments to our friends’ highlight reels and we’re left in a hurricane of inadequacy, feeling ashamed, not enough.
What Do You Expect?
Why do so many people struggle more during the holidays? Loneliness, depression, family arguments, increased temptations, you name it—this time of year can be downright tough. But half the challenge around the holidays has less to do with our circumstances and more to do with our expectations. Expectations are TNT to holiday peace and joy. And they come at us from every direction: Advertisers...
Tags and Titles
Not all of us carry a business card in a wallet or wear a nametag on our shirt. But every one of us carries one or more titles that shape our lives. Some are clearly negative: Failure, Ugly, Coward, Fag, Unwanted, Unloved. Others may sound pretty good: College Grad, Pastor, Leader, Successful, Sexy. Whatever the titles you carry, they have power. Just like other agreements we make, a title...
Saints, Sinners, Storytellers
I long for people to be more courageous with their stories. Over the past decade and a half, I’ve had the honor of seeing many men and women take journeys against impossible odds— to fight for a marriage that seems hopeless, to give up sexual sins others consider normal (the “normal” list is growing), or to pursue healing from past sexual abuse. But outside one or two key friendships, many of...