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Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. (Joshua 1:9, ESV)

Several years ago, my wife (Melissa) and I took our son (Michael) and a friend of his to an amusement park. I do not remember their exact age, but they were probably around ten. We were all smiles until we decided to board one of the roller coasters. The three of us had ridden rides like that before, but Michael’s friend had not. He immediately showed signs of concern. After some discussion, he agreed to give it a try. Continue reading “Roller Coasters of Life”

My wife and I have quite a bit in common. We both enjoy good food. We don’t care much for cold weather and would rather every day be a beach day. We like to kick back and watch one of our favorite TV shows or a movie. We are both introverts. We love people, but we need time to ourselves to recharge. We tend to be task-oriented. We are often pretty content with accomplishing our to-do lists. Continue reading “Opposites Attract”

I do not like “unknowns”. One of the most challenging parts of this COVID-19 pandemic for me is not having clear answers to the many questions rushing through my mind. One of the most pervasive questions is this: “when will this end?”. It’s like I am craving a light at the end of the tunnel to look forward to. However, there is no clear indication of when it will be over. We just don’t know when our lives will resume without the present threat looming over us. Continue reading “There is an End”

A few Monday nights ago, it happened again. For those of you who know my story, you will recall my past struggle with fear, anxiety, and panic attacks. Well, these old acquaintances have paid me a visit over the past two weeks or so. On that Monday night, the granddaddy of them all (a massive panic attack) snuck up on me about midnight. Continue reading “A Painful Reminder”

Years ago, Derek Webb penned these lyrics to the Caedmon’s Call song “Thankful”:

I ran across an old box of letters
While I was bagging up
Some clothes for Goodwill
You know I had to laugh
That the same old struggles
That plagued me then
Are plaguing me still

It can be massively discouraging when we come to the realization that we continue to wrestle with the same things over and over in life. We wonder if we will ever be free of those things we despise about ourselves and/or our behavior. Is there any hope for us when we discover we are stuck in a cycle we’ve tried so hard to break? Continue reading “A Neverending Cycle”

Last night I came home from work (my day job, not counseling) in a pretty good mood. I went about doing several little things I wanted to do, including warming up some delicious supper that my wife had made on Sunday and turning on some TV to watch (by the way, Wu-Tang: An American Saga is pretty cool for those like me who enjoyed Wu-Tang’s music back in the day). Continue reading “Letting Our Guard Down”

As a counselor, listening is a big part of what I offer others as they come to me with struggles that need to be shared and worked through. Below are some thoughts that came to me today as one of my good friends spurred a conversation about this topic. Continue reading “Listening”