“But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do.” Psalm 73:28 Have you ever had the same thoughts as...
Are You a Resourceful Person?
If you polled a group of people and asked them to identify what resource would help them to be successful, you would get a wide array of answers. “If I had more money…” “If I had more time in the...
The Truth About Repentance
Have you ever struggled with a particular sin, and you didn’t know how to break free from it? So many of us find ourselves stuck in sins; for instance, we could be trapped in sins like selfishness, greed, pornography, lust...
Raising Your Standards – Part 2
In my blog post Raising Your Standards – Part 1, we learned that every part of our lives is governed by a standard? We have a standard for everything, and we measure everything against that standard. A standard is something...
Raising Your Standards – Part 1
Have you ever stopped to think about the fact that every part of your life is governed by a standard? The truth is, we have a standard for everything, and we measure everything against that standard. Relationships, finances...
The Power of Focus
It’s one of my favorite times of the year, when I can enjoy a fresh start and a clean slate. It can be an emotional or sentimental time, as I reflect on life and what I’ve gone through and accomplished in the past...
Breaking Bad Habits – Part 2
Aristotle said, “What it lies in our power to do it lies in our power not to do.” We are not powerless when it comes to breaking our bad habits. We learned in Part 1 that we first have to understand the habit loop, and then...
Breaking Bad Habits – Part 1
Warren Buffett once said, “Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken.” There is nothing more challenging than to try to change habits or to break a bad habit. A study from Duke...
A Breakthrough in Productivity
Will Durant once said, “I think the ability of the average man could be doubled if the situation demanded.” I think we would all agree with him–when we are faced with a deadline, it’s amazing what we can get done...
Will You Forgive (Part 2)
C.S. Lewis said, “Everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea until they have something to forgive.” In Part 1 of “Will You Forgive?” we talked about the fact that it’s God’s plan for us to live...
Will You Forgive? (Part 1)
Abundant life. John 10:10 tells us it’s the very reason Jesus came to die. He said in John 10:10, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” One of the most...
Be Unreasonable – Part 2
In Part 1 of Be Unreasonable, we talked about how many of us have listened to the voices that tell us to be more reasonable with our dreams and expectations. Because of this, we have settled into an average life, and our dreams...
Be Unreasonable – Part 1
When we were kids, we had huge dreams of doing amazing things. In our minds, nothing was impossible, and the sky truly was the limit. Over time, however, our dreams began to fade. They shrank because of the voices in our lives...
The Power of Self-Control
We’ve all been there. It’s Monday morning, and we find ourselves starting yet another diet. We do great all morning, eat a salad at lunch, and even make healthy choices at dinner. Something happens, however, once the sun goes...
Developing a Deeper Bench
A sports team will only go so far as their bench allows them. Every team has its top starters; however, when those players need a rest, the players who come off the bench have to be strong enough to help the team continue to...
Managing Stress – Part 2
There is definitely no shortage of stress in America. In fact, in Part 1, we talked about two areas that could be causing us stress–unfocused time and unleveraged energy. We learned that not all time is equal. The key is...
Managing Stress, Part 1
If you were to be honest with yourself, more than likely, you are experiencing stress of some form right now. In fact, according to the 2014 Stress Statistics published by the American Institute of Stress, around 33% of people...
Rethinking Time Management
I’m sure if you are like me, at some point in your life you’ve uttered the statements, “I wish I had a few more hours in the day,” or “Where did the time go?” Time is a treasured commodity, and because of this fact...
The Power of Reading
Since we were small children, our parents and teachers began the important task of teaching us to read. The reason they did this is because they understood the power that would come from our ability to read…both personally...
The Power of Perception
At some point in our lives, we all come up against a difficult event or circumstance. Often, the event or circumstance will become an obstacle or a barrier to our achieving what we want to achieve. An obstacle can come in all...
3 Ways to Develop Mental Strength
The mind has always intrigued me. The power of the mind and our ability to control, exercise and develop it are fascinating. I’ve come to realize that, just as physical strength varies from person to person, mental...
Living With Consistency
It’s happened to all of us. We set out with the desire to make important changes and start life-changing routines such as going to the gym, improving on our golf game, eating healthier foods, or learning to play a new...
Questions That Will Lead to Success
I love to ask questions. I think that good questions have the power to make you think in ways that you have never thought before. The right questions will challenge your status quo and play a significant role in whether or not...
The Need for Intensity
My basketball coach in the 8th grade was something else. You could use the word “fanatical” to describe him. Some thought he was just plain crazy. He seemed to be continuously brimming over with intensity. So much so...
5 Steps to Maintaining Organizational Focus
“2020 has been a very challenging year.” If we’ve said that statement once, we’ve said it a million times. I’ve known people who have gotten extremely sick from Covid or who have passed away. I know...
Overcoming Sexual Sin
We recently closed out of a series at Emmanuel Church entitled “The Art of Living,” and my final talk of the series was a challenging and unpopular topic–overcoming sexual sin. The reason this information is...
5 Ways to Deal with Difficult People
It is rare when we can say that something is a “sure thing,” but one of those sure things is that at some point, we will have to deal with difficult people. None of us receives a pass. Think about the difficult...
Are You Afraid?
I recently was finishing up with a workout, and I had someone ask me, “Are you afraid?” We had been in conversation, and the question was with regard to all that is happening in our world right now. You will admit, whether...
Breaking Through Fear
Every single day, we are bombarded with the very worst of news. Whether you hear the bad news on the television, on your phone, or through a friend, there is no shortage of it. If there are good things happening or positivity...
The Right Kind of Friend
At some point in our lives, we all will face something that we cannot overcome on our own. There will be a problem that will require the help of friends. I think we would all agree that there’s been nothing that has...