Every Monday, I’ll post about discovering genuine hope and authentic answers for living a healthy life. — Right attitudes toward our weaknesses are essential. Without them, we may struggle to meet our five needs in healthy ways. For instance, as I explained to a group of teenagers last week and as I’ve blogged about before, spelling isn’t my strength. Imagine if it was a bigger deal to me than it needs to be. Imagine if I hadn’t found ways to compensate. I might answer the core questions like this: Security: Who can I trust? I can’t trust myself. I can’t even spell well! Identity: Who am I? I’m stupid. Spelling is hard for me. Belonging: Who Wants me? I have friends, but I better not let them know spelling … [Read more...]
Thought Provoking Discussion Starters #41: Challenging Thoughts from The Apostle Paul
November 9, 2012 by · Leave a Comment
Every Friday, I’ll post thought provoking discussion starters. — Paul wrote many of the God-breathed books in the New Testament of the Holy Word of God, including Colossians. I pray thinking through my questions about a few verses will be meaningful for you. And, I hope you’ll find people to discuss them with, especially if you’re people smart and you think well with others. In Colossians 2:1-4, Paul tells some people that he wants them to be “encouraged in heart and united in love.” Maybe you need this particular section of Scripture today. Would encouragement and unity through love bless you? Paul wanted people encouraged so they would “have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may … [Read more...]
Patience is Related to Joy
September 24, 2012 by · Leave a Comment
Every Monday, I’ll post about discovering genuine hope and authentic answers for living a healthy life. — Quick. Name as many impatient people as you can think of. Ready! Go! …… Okay. Stop. Could you have kept going forever and ever? Was your name on the list? It’s much easier to name impatient people than it is to name patient ones. Yellow light runners. Complainers in the slow line at the cash register. Complainers in any line. Whiners who don’t want to wait their turn. People telling their computer to “hurry up” as if it will help. Children not wanting to answer parents’ questions about their day because there’s something else to do. Judging someone’s prayer request as taking too … [Read more...]
A Simple Way to Positively Affect a Child’s Ability and Interest
September 5, 2012 by · Leave a Comment
Every Wednesday, I’ll post about multiple intelligences so we can better understand children and why they do what they do. — Two weeks ago, one of the suggestions I made for strengthening smarts was to increase both interest and ability. That’s valuable to remember as the school year begins. There’s a simple way to affect both ability and interest. When you talk with your children about their day, ask about how they did and what they learned about. Children need to know you care about both. Talk about their ability. Realize that many of the important things that happen during a school day do not come home in children’s backpacks. Sure, ask about the grades on the papers you do see, but do more than that. Ask about … [Read more...]
Three Beliefs Related to Gratitude: Satisfaction, Contentment, and Inner Peace
August 27, 2012 by · Leave a Comment
Every Monday, I’ll post about discovering genuine hope and authentic answers for living a healthy life. — Last week, I posted about the difference between being grateful and living gratefully. When children live gratefully, they’ll develop self-respect, self-control, and respect for others. Do you value these qualities in children? Then, help them root gratitude in beliefs rather than in circumstances. Three related beliefs cause us to be grateful. They are life satisfaction, contentment, and inner peace. What do we model before children in our lives? Do they hear us complaining about what we don’t have? whining about not getting our way? talking about past decisions that have ruined our lives? worrying about … [Read more...]
Living Gratefully
August 20, 2012 by · Leave a Comment
Every Monday, I’ll post about discovering genuine hope and authentic answers for living a healthy life. — Is living gratefully a choice? Is it different from being grateful? Last Monday, I posted about how the character qualities of self-respect, self-control, and respect for others are related to meeting our five core needs in healthy ways. Research suggests gratitude and joy give birth to these three. To some extent, living gratefully is a choice. It’s rooted in certain thinking patterns, though, and without being exposed to those, it would be hard (if not impossible) to be grateful consistently. If we want children to be grateful, we need to be grateful. But, we shouldn’t assume they’ll figure out why we are … [Read more...]
How do Olympians become Olympians?
August 8, 2012 by · Leave a Comment
Every Wednesday, I’ll post about multiple intelligences so we can better understand children and why they do what they do. — How do Olympians become Olympians? Practice, practice, practice, … But, it starts way before that. A parent, teacher, and/or coach saw something special in these athletes. It may have been skill. Natural. Easy. Complete. Quick to learn. It may have been interest. Wanting to practice. Asking to swim all the time. Turning every line on pavement into a balance beam. Jumping over everything rather than calmly stepping over things or picking them up and putting them away. It may have been attitude. Optimistic. Hopeful. Team-player. It may have been character. Diligence. Perseverance. … [Read more...]
Developing Your Own Personal Board of Directors
July 23, 2012 by · 3 Comments
Every Monday, I’ll post about discovering genuine hope and authentic answers for living a healthy life. — Do you have a Board of Directors? You can have one even if you don’t have a ministry or company that, by law, must have one. Maybe you should have one. Surprised? My ministry Board of Directors meets tonight to review how things are going and to look at the future. Our meetings are always important and encouraging. I also have a Personal Board of Directors. It’s made up of men and women I respect who can speak into my life regarding various issues. They’re the ones I’m willing to listen to, because of our relationship, who have something to teach me that I need to learn. What do you need to learn? What are … [Read more...]
More Friends = Healthy
June 4, 2012 by · Leave a Comment
Every Monday, I’ll post about discovering genuine hope and authentic answers for living a healthy life. — Children and adults have five core needs that must be met in healthy ways (security, identity, belonging, purpose, and competence). Leaving them unmet or meeting them in unhealthy ways is unwise. All of our choices, attitudes, and actions will be influenced. I believe we’re best off when we allow God His proper place as the One Who can best meet our needs. Other than the Triune God, it’s not wise to rely on any one person to meet our needs. And, it’s definitely unwise to rely on a thing. As I mentioned in Friday’s post, Nancy is moving to the state of Washington. She’s one of my best friends and our Project … [Read more...]
Thought Provoking Discussion Starters #15: The Anniversary of the Oklahoma City Bombing
April 20, 2012 by · Leave a Comment
Every Friday, I’ll post thought provoking discussion starters. — Yesterday was the 17th anniversary of the bombing in Oklahoma City. That’s hard to believe! If I wouldn’t have flown to Oklahoma for an event yesterday, I wouldn’t have remembered. We know that challenges affect people’s beliefs and attitudes, even if they’re not personally involved. Did this one influence you in any way? Why or why not? Do you know others who were affected by it much more than you were? Why do you think that is? I wonder why we remember what we remember and forget what we forget…. --- Photo credit goes to my friend Randy Thomas. Thanks Randy! … [Read more...]
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