Self-Care

The Antidote for Darkness

She sat in the second row. Long brown hair. A high-school look to her, and yet, her eyes belied way too many journeys to fit into a 16-year-old time frame.

I was teaching a class about ministry and dark places. Not so much about ministry in dark places, but about the darkness we and/or our spouses bring with us into ministry. I started the hour by saying, "Unfortunately, ...

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When I Am Weak, Then I Am Strong

"You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ?I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.' You must do the thing you think you cannot do."

- Eleanor Roosevelt in You Learn by Living

No doubt hardships strengthen us. In my ...

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Solitude for the Busy Mom

If you're a mother, you can relate: Between caring for kids, managing the house, and tackling work or other responsibilities, the idyllic quietness of heart and deep communion with God we long for can seem like a mirage, a perpetually unattainable goal. Real life with real kids is seldom quiet, and dedicated moms are hardly ever alone. For us, even using the bathroom ...

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Edit Your Schedule, Practice Self-Control

I had a couple of ruthless high school English teachers who routinely "bled" across my and my classmates' papers with their red pens - fabulous teachers who taught us to write. One point they eventually got across is how much harder it is to write a short paper than a long one. This is counterintuitive but true. Today this point re-emerges when a client is ...

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Confident Living

An excerpt from Leading with Confidence, a downloadable resource from GiftedForLeadership.com:

Paul's entire reason for confidence is rooted in the character of God himself - not what Paul did or didn't see going on around him. He's absolutely certain of one thing: God is in control. Period.

This, of course, is a great mystery to us. How does God take into ...

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Famished for God

Elizabeth Gilbert, a regular columnist for GQ magazine, has written a new book -

Eat, Play, Love - that traces the spiritual quest of a modern, educated, well-employed American. When I picked it up, I couldn't put it down. As a woman, a Christian, and an anthropologist, I recommend it.

Like Liz, a lot of our friends and colleagues want a richer spiritual experience, ...

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Knowing Who God Is

When God chose to speak to Moses out of the burning bush, it was for a specific purpose. He had a plan for Moses' life, and he was about to tell Moses exactly how to start carrying it out. Once Moses had properly positioned himself to hear from God, the Lord spoke: "I am sending you to Pharoah to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt" (Exodus 3:10).

Whoa!

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Identity Crisis

This past winter, when I was eight months pregnant, my husband and I attended a retreat for "thoughtful" Christians on the snow-covered dunes of Lake Michigan. We had a great time and met wonderful, interesting people with whom we enjoyed great conversations. But one man marred my trip a bit: Whenever he saw me, he insisted on calling me mama.

You don't ...

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Antidote to Overachievement

I succumb to a number of leadership pitfalls. One of those is the neglect of presence, translated: I'm so busy doing the work of leadership that I sacrifice being for doing, and worse, believe the lie that success rests entirely on my shoulders. It is the Elijah syndrome - the overachievement complex - and I have it.

One of the sure antidotes to an unhealthy focus ...

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Laying Down a Busy Life

The image of a dark, overcrowded broom closet comes to me periodically as a picture of my life. All manner of things are jammed in haphazardly, and everything is apt to topple perilously down into a heap when the door is opened.

I am a productive, organized, and fast-moving person; I do a lot and get a lot done in a short time. This is one of my greatest strengths - and ...

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