Halloween is upon us. Which means it is the time of year for scary masks in the aisles of the grocery store, age-inappropriate shows or commercials at all hours of the day on every screen, and countless other opportunities for your child to see or hear something that scares them. Unfortunately, we parents cannot completely...
Author: The Shepherd's Staff
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Life After Ashley Madison – 7 Tips to Help Move Towards Relationship Restoration After You Have Been Caught
If you find yourself in the terrifying position of being caught (be it after an affair, online chat/hook-up, pornography, etc.), I want to tell you that it is possible to make it through. It won’t be easy. It will require diligence and intentionality, but there is hope - not only for yourself, but for your spouse, family and marriage as well.
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Fears, My Back Porch, and the Lesson In the Stars
“I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness because it shows me the stars.” –Og Mandino I’m a night person because that’s when the stars come out. I sometimes sit on my back porch in a wooden chair and stare out into the blackness, hiding from...
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What Feeds Your Soul?
I was talking with a group of graduate school students the other day about how important it is to take a break and intentionally care for ourselves. Why is it so difficult to do this? For example, I used to play guitar. Now it has been months–if not years–since I have picked one up and...
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Lessons from Mr. Spock
The recent passing of Leonard Nimoy brings a profound sense of loss not only for the man himself, but also for the beloved half-human, half-vulcan he portrayed for so many years in television and film. Mr. Spock is truly an American icon, curiously evoking so much love and emotion for a character who was supposedly the pinnacle of...
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In need or being needy
It’s 6:45 a.m. and I am sitting in the terminal. Problem is, my flight departed at 5:30. My destination is the snow-capped mountains of Fraser, Colorado where I will be spending the next 4 days at a Ransomed Heart boot camp. My prayer to this point has been that I would be open to what...
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Grief and Groundhog Day
I remember hating the movie Groundhog Day when I was younger, mainly because it felt like the movie would never end – which was the point as far as I can tell. It dawned on me recently that this is very much like grief. The process often feels so slow it’s like you’re waking up...
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Depression, Mistakes, and Another Year
Today is New Year’s Day, and many of us are just waking up after a late night of celebration, counting down in eager anticipation of the new year. This day is lauded as more than just the first day of a new calendar; it is the dawn of a hopeful new era of possibility. Many...
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Anxiety!
Anxiety is the only mental problem with which I KNOW I’ve ever been diagnosed. (How’s that for an opening line?) As such, I’m intimately aware of how exhausting it can be. For example, I used to fill my plate with food, then proceed to eat only one item at a time. I’d sooner walk across hot...
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Cultivate Your Child's Worldview
I was the kid who was constantly on his bike, and when I say constantly I mean it. I was also the kid who could never quite manage to make it home on time – after all, what shade of ‘dark’ did my Mom mean when she said ‘Be home by dark’? At some point...