Spiritual Growth

Devotional-style readings to help you grow and develop wisdom as a spouse, parent, friend, leader, and most importantly, as a Jesus-follower.
Bought with Blood Bought with Blood
Theology

Bought with Blood

It’s pretty easy to buy presents for people these days. “One click” on Amazon or Target or Macy’s and the present’s bought, wrapped, shipped and paid for. But I want you to stop for a…

Why I Write This Blog Why I Write This Blog
Purpose

Why I Write This Blog

I’m reading a book about vulnerability . . . Brené Brown’s Daring Greatly. She first did a TED talk about vulnerability. The talk went viral, with over ten million people watching it. Now it’s a…

The Silence of the Lie The Silence of the Lie
Character

The Silence of the Lie

Telling the truth is one of the lynchpins of character. There are 54 verses in the Bible about lying. Proverbs 12:22 is one of the best…  The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in people…

E.G.O. – Edging God Out E.G.O. – Edging God Out
Walking the Talk

E.G.O. – Edging God Out

Our egos fuel us to contend with God. We get a little success and we start feeling pretty good about ourselves. We read our ‘press’ and believe it. Compliments, testimonials, thank you notes, recognition by…

You Hurt My…Ego! You Hurt My…Ego!
Marriage

You Hurt My…Ego!

“You hurt my feelings” is really hard for a man to say. It’s not manly to talk about your feelings or to whine about your sniffly wounded heart! Much more manly to pout. That’s what…

Now Fire Your Church… Now Fire Your Church…
Church

Now Fire Your Church…

Ever since Michael Jordan signed his first shoe deal, I’ve been fascinated by this thing called ‘transference’. What on God’s green earth does a basketball player from Wilmington North Carolina have to do with the…

Fire Your Father Fire Your Father
Parenting

Fire Your Father

So it’s the day after Father’s Day. You gave him a call, a dozen golf balls, or maybe lunch out with the family. Now fire him. That’s right…fire him! If you’re an adult, you’re out…

Mentors and Fathers…Two Different Things Mentors and Fathers…Two Different Things
Mentoring

Mentors and Fathers…Two Different Things

Fathers can be mentors, but mentors aren’t necessarily fathers. Mentors choose to mentor, but once a man becomes a father, he is always the father. I believe that’s why God chose the ‘father – son’…

Mentoring Kids Mentoring Kids
Mentoring

Mentoring Kids

Maybe the most frequent question coming our way is about mentoring young guys…like teenagers, college kids and young singles. There’s even the question of adding ‘mentor’ to the ‘father’ role with our own kids. How…

You Can Never Not Lead You Can Never Not Lead
Leadership

You Can Never Not Lead

We are always leading. While a lot of what we do seems benign, there’s a motive behind everything we do. And people are always watching. Almost nothing we do is in complete secret. The question…