Unoffendable—Like Teflon
What do you do with stinging criticism? When it rings in your ears? In the past I have held on to it. I have gone over what was said, why it was unfair or what that person didn’t understand (the past)...
View ArticleDay of No Fear Challenge
As I read this issue of Conversations, my thinking was jarred by Keith Matthew’s article, Fear of Missing Out, in relation to our having to be present to our technology rather than being present to...
View ArticleSimple But Powerful: Practicing God’s Presence
An uncomplicated yet powerful spiritual exercise is to merely practice the presence of God throughout our day: thanking God for a beautiful sunset or the best coffee we’ve ever tasted, asking God to...
View ArticleThe Abundant Life of Simplicity
As you ponder what you might want to do differently this year, some of your ideas no doubt revolve around simplicity. You want to make things less complicated and less stressful. It sounds good, but...
View ArticleGod’s Opinion of Me
What words would you use to describe what God thinks about you? Please don’t think of “correct” answers. Think of what you think God really thinks of you, without having to try to be positive. Really....
View ArticleJoyful Trust to Astounding Behavior
Recent studies of the brain tell us that it operates best when we’re in a joyful state. That made me think of Jesus walking through the betrayal, arrest and crucifixion, “who for the joy set before him...
View ArticleGet Real? At My Age?
In my early thirties, my brown-black hair began forming a silver streak across the front. Over the years, I had great fun making the most of the black-silver contrast framing my face. But a while ago,...
View ArticleDoing “Serious Nothing”
How do you feel about being interrupted? I’m not good at it, so I was surprised and mildly horrified that so many of Jesus’ healings were interruptions in his day. He had somewhere to go and something...
View ArticleWhat Twelve Step Has To Say About Transformation (And Why We Should Care)
First, a confession: I gulped when the editorial team assigned me this article. They spoke bluntly: “Every church lobby should have a sign that says, ‘Go downstairs for change; stay upstairs to stay...
View ArticleConfessions of a Game-Changer
When I read my student’s words: “This class was a game-changer for me,” I nearly went into orbit. He now looked at transformation, life and even God differently than before. This is what I live for, I...
View ArticleThe With-God Life
One of my directees runs an organization with 330 staff and a large budget. He is in and out of meetings all day and constantly interacts with people. He asked me, Is it really so important that I talk...
View ArticleSeeing Jesus
Since my friend Dallas Willard died, I’ve found myself doing things that are “out of the box.” As a self-employed person I’ve tried to stay focused on writing, teaching and spiritual direction. No...
View ArticleReprocessing Anger into Grace
I’m quite fascinated by the carpenter Joseph in the Nativity story and what it must have been like to have a son who was a messiah. Family life is puzzling enough without divine intervention from the...
View ArticlePracticing God’s Presence…for the Next Ten Minutes
The d-word in “spiritual disciplines” makes it sound like spiritual formation is for those who like a well-ordered routine. The message seems to be: If you want to become Christlike, if you want your...
View ArticleSwitching the Focus
Because the Renovare´ Book Club and Goodreads is studying my book Madame Guyon Her Autobiography, I’ve been re-reading it. I’ve been particularly impressed by Jeanne Guyon’s peace and tranquility in...
View ArticleHow Did Mary Become So Adventurous?
If you were given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be involved in a venture that would change the world but cost you a great deal, how would you respond? Would you hesitate as Moses did at the...
View ArticleThe Kind of Person You Can Talk to about Spiritual Things
How was Dallas Willard able to act as an informal spiritual director to so many people? Why were they able to talk with him so easily about the primary topic in spiritual direction: how they’ve been...
View ArticleTrust God & Do the Next Thing
The book Abandoned to God, the biography of Oswald Chambers (who wrote My Utmost for His Highest and many other books) is full of wisdom as well as being an interesting story. One of Chambers’ favorite...
View ArticleWhat About the Other Guy?
A confession: Sometimes I get distracted—OK, annoyed!—by what others are doing. Their actions seem wrong to me but others give them good feedback; or they’re not doing their part; or they’re...
View ArticleContagious
Many years ago, I was speaking at a church about the importance of believing at “gut level” that God loves us when a man asked me, “How did you get to the place that you really believed that?” I’d just...
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