Papa, Clean Me!
Andrew, my two-and-half-year-old grandson, came across a fresh pile of dog poo in the yard last week. Having been told repeatedly to stay away from dog piles, he of course felt an irresistible desire to step on it and squish it around. Not liking the odor, he walked across the lawn trying to scrape his […]
Gentle Shepherding
Tom called me for advice on how to deal with a church elder’s daughter who was pregnant out of wedlock. Half of his elder board was insisting that she appear before them to confess her sin. The other half, including her father, wanted her to simply write a letter of confession. The young woman was […]
RW Acrostics in Action
When emotions rise, rational thinking usually plummets. This is why I summarized the key principles in my book, The Peacemaker, as simple acrostics, such as the Seven A’s of Confession and the Four Promises of Forgiveness, which people can recall and apply even when emotions are clouding their judgment. Having seen the benefit of these […]
RW … More Than Being Nice
A few days ago, a friend asked me if relational wisdom isn’t simply “being nice.” He’d recently read my “Serving a Barista” post, which gave him the impression that relational wisdom applies only to the easy, pleasant encounters of life. “Nothing could be further from the truth,” I told him. Not that it doesn’t apply […]
R U Morally Superior?
There is one thing you must do in order to judge others, hold a grudge or indulge bitterness. You must constantly affirm yourself as being morally superior to the person you are condemning. You must think … “I have the right to judge you, because I am morally superior to you.” “I have the right […]
A Time for Peace or War?
The following article is adapted from an article I wrote in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. I have revised it in light of the debate regarding Syria. While the geographical focus has changed from the U.S. to the Middle East, many of the issues and peacemaking principles remain the same. The recent use of […]
Preventing a Breach
I learned the hard way how easy it is to breach a dam. When I was fourteen, my dad hired a contractor to enlarge a stock pond on our ranch by building a dam. It was ten feet high and thirty feet thick at its base. As the pond filled, we discovered that the dirt […]
The Power of Words
Do you want to learn how to connect with people? Really connect? To touch others heart-to-heart, life-to-life? To convince them you understand and care about them? To move them toward actions that are right and good and pleasing to God? Then learn how to connect with their hearts by describing experiences that trigger godly emotions. […]
Awareness Test
This is an awareness test. It takes only 50 seconds … but it could change your life (if video screen does not appear below, click here). Debrief If you missed the moon walking bear, you experienced a process known as “selective perception,” which is the unconscious filtering of what we see and hear so as […]
The Nail
This is a test. Watch the following two minute video clip and decide which person you sympathize with the most.