Developing Our Strengths while Managing Our Weaknesses
Many are painfully aware of weaknesses that hold them back. Yet, surprisingly, they are unaware of their many strengths. Focusing on our weaknesses while ignoring our strengths can be a source of discouragement and failure. And glorifying our strengths while ignoring our weaknesses can be equally unproductive. It is only when we…

From the Ridicluous to the Sublime If you were asked to give an example of something ridiculous, what would you say? What do you consider foolish, irrational, absurd, stupid or senseless? What could be more ridiculous than to neglect oneself, ignore what is in one's best interest, and squander one's vast potential? Does it make any sense to curb your…

Fear of Dying in Pain
Pauline is a 55-year-old, two-time cancer survivor who is terribly afraid of possible future suffering and a premature death. She also feels guilty about her fear because she believes that as a Christian she shouldn't be afraid, and she should be able to completely trust in God. Pauline is wondering if I have any…

There is no dispensation from the Law of Compensation
What do I mean by saying there is no dispensation from the Law of Compensation? I first need to explain the meaning of COMPENSATION. I’m not using it to mean ‘salary’ or ‘benefit package,’ but to mean ‘what constitutes, or is regarded as, an equivalent; what makes good the lack or variation of something else; what COMPENSATES for loss or privation; amends or recompense.

This is how the English Metaphysical poet Francis Quarles (1592 ~ 1644) describes compensation: “As there is no worldly gain without some loss, so there…

It's okay to pick your friends, but don't pick them to piecesWhat do you think of people who descend on their friends like vultures, criticizing, maligning, ridiculing, scorning, blaming, insulting, and belittling them? Actual vultures feed on carrion, but these human vultures pick their friends apart while they are still alive. Our family members are supposed to be our closest friends, yet even they may engage in the same malicious tactics. It’s time to impose a cease-fire, and the best way to start is to become aware of our actions and to accept responsibility for them.

When we criticize…

Do we see the truth in diversity or only the differences?
As soon as we leave our little neighborhood and enter the world at large, we are bound to meet people that have different religious, political, and cultural beliefs. During those encounters, do we see the common threads that unite humanity, or do we just see the differences? If we seek the truth, wish to grow, want to gain knowledge and understanding, wish to know peace and experience happiness, we will be open-minded. We will be tolerant. Tolerant, not in the sense of putting up with the differences of…

The path to greatness is called SACRIFICE
Imagine cavemen sitting in comfort before a fire in a communal cave being urged by their mates to go hunting for food on a cold, rainy, winter day. They are being called on to make a sacrifice. They are being asked to give up the comfort of their cave temporarily for greater rewards. Of course, there is initial resistance. But by accepting the task, they discover their rewards far outweigh the comfort they temporarily set aside. For they will come to experience the joy of victory over the foul weather, the exhilaration…