How to Resolve Conflict with Your Spouse (Part 2)
Live together in harmony, live together in love, as though you had only one mind and one spirit between you … in humility think more of each other than you do of yourselves. Philippians 2:3-4 (PH) *** *** *** *** If you’re going to pull together when you’re pulled apart, you have to: Convene a peace conference. Conflict does not resolve itself. It must be dealt with intentionally. Conflict gets worse when you leave it alone. Jesus says don’t ignore it. Deal with the issue while you can. If you’ve got something wrong with somebody or they’ve got something wrong …
James 3 Illustrated
Powerful short movie.
How to Resolve Conflict with Your Spouse (Part 1)
You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. James 4:2 (NIV) *** *** *** *** Sometimes the biggest conflicts in marriage are over the most trivial issues. One of the silliest fights Kay and I ever had was over bath soap. If you’re going to pull together when you’re pulled apart, you have to: Call on God for help. Pray about it. Before you go to your spouse about the problem, discuss it with God. This may solve the problem right there. Practice what I call “ventilating vertically.” Many of you are very good …
How to Develop Self-Discipline
God did not give us a spirit that makes us afraid but a spirit of power and love and self-control. 2 Timothy 1:7 (NCV) *** *** *** *** God wants you to develop a self-discipline that pushes you to do things, even as others are giving up. Over the years, I’ve observed six key expressions of self-discipline: People with self-discipline master their moods. They live by their commitments, not their emotions. People who do the right thing even when they don’t feel like it accomplish most of what gets done in the world! “A man without self-control is as defenseless …
How to Overcome Discouragement
Then the people of Judah said, “The work crews are worn out, and there is too much rubble. We can’t continue to rebuild the wall.” Nehemiah 4:10 (GWT) *** *** *** *** Discouragement is curable. Whenever I get discouraged, I head straight to Nehemiah. This great leader of ancient Israel understood there were four reasons for discouragement. First, you get fatigued. You simply get tired as the laborers did in Nehemiah 4:10. We’re human beings and we wear out. You cannot burn the candle at both ends. So if you’re discouraged, it may be you don’t have to change anything. …
Movie Review: Body of Lies
I had mentioned in my review of “Burn After Reading” that the opening and closing shots are amusing and poignant to what the film is about; in that, here’s a picture of the globe, here we focus on a random area, and see random events that prove to be much more hectic and dramatic than they should. In “Body of Lies”, it’s pretty much the complete opposite effect. The film revolves around two characters throughout, played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe. Now, I’m going to go ahead and let you know that the trailers for this film have been …
How to Fight Spiritual Warfare
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 6:12 (NIV) *** *** *** *** There are four things we need to do when we are battling spiritual warfare in our lives: 1. Acknowledge the adversary. Satan is real (1 Peter 5:8-9). When you’re being attacked, it’s proof that you’re a believer. The more you make an impact for God, the more the Devil is going to fight you. You never …
Drawing Out Your Child's Heart
I heard John Piper say in an interview with Mark Driscoll that one of the things he most regrets about about his time parenting his now adult boys, is that he didn’t work hard enough to push inside their hearts and draw them out. He taught them the Bible, he disciplined them to be responsible, he cheered them on in sports and activities, but he feels like he didn’t do enough to teach them to understand and nurture their hearts. Watch the video and fast-forward to the 34th minute to hear John talk about this. What a challenge! I want …
How to Have a Quiet Time (Part 4)
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23-24 (NIV) *** *** *** *** Follow a simple plan Someone has said, “If you aim at nothing, you are sure to hit it!” To have a meaningful quiet time, you will need a plan or some kind of general outline to follow. The main rule is this: Keep your plan simple. You will need the following three items for your planned quiet times: …
Painting My Childhood…
My wife and I are buying a house here in Sandpoint and since the close date was pushed back we received permission to get in and paint while we had family in town to watch our children. After all, have you ever tried to paint with two toddlers running around? My wife said, “Well, pick a room to get started in” and I knew exactly where I was headed: Judah’s room! Tamra and I decided that we were going to paint our kids’ rooms gender colors so Elliana’s room is a girly pink/purple and Judah’s is a manly bright boy …
