The Last Human Freedom
“The last of the human freedoms is to choose one’s attitude.” So wrote Viktor Frankl, an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist who survived the Holocaust, living through the deprivation and horrors of both Auschwitz and Dachau. Consider the background for his writing about freedom. His wife, parents and brother were killed by the Nazis. His captors […]
SOG vs COVID-19
We are surely living in unprecedented times! Who would have ever thought that churches, businesses, schools and parks throughout the world would be void of activity, and that people would be quarantined in their homes to slow the spread of a deadly virus? And yet, here we are. But what wonderful stories of sacrifice and […]
The Myths of Divorce
The Myths of Divorce Most of us would not consider ourselves to be gullible or naïve, yet Scripture often reminds us, “Do not be deceived.” (e.g., James 1:16, Gal. 6:7). In truth, we are easily deceived. We often latch on to a piece of “worldly wisdom” that sounds good to us and justifies our actions, even […]
Papa, Clean Me!
When he was two-and-half-years-old, my grandson, Andrew, came across a fresh pile of dog poo in the yard. 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 […]
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 […]
Five Ways to Weave RW into Your Life
One of the most popular features of our training program is that we summarize all of our key principles in simple acrostics that can be easily memorized and applied in every day life. Here is a report from a man on how these concepts helped him to respond constructively to a frustrating spouse, a challenging […]
The Last Human Freedom
“The last of the human freedoms is to choose one’s attitude.” So wrote Viktor Frankl, an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist who survived the Holocaust, living through the deprivation and horrors of both Auschwitz and Dachau. Consider the background for his writing about freedom. His wife, parents and brother were killed by the Nazis. His captors […]
A Biker with Amazing Relational Skills
Mom’s Night Out (not to be confused with Bad Moms) provides some superb examples of relational wisdom … especially by a big, tattooed biker. The movie involves three mothers who decide they need a night away from their kids. In order to enjoy high heels, adult conversation and food not served in a bag, they […]
Falsely Accused
I often warn people that when they start studying relational wisdom, God is likely to give them homework. That’s what happened last week to a young woman I’ll call “Susan” (all names changed), who just shared this story with me. Susan’s boss, Barbara, asked her to make travel arrangements for a trip involving their entire […]
My Wife’s Punch List Was Driving Our Son Crazy
During the last months of my son’s senior year in high school, Jeff had a lot of conflict with his mother. As a result I was doing more mediation at home than I was through my conciliation ministry. Night after night the three of us applied principles of confession, forgiveness and negotiation. And the next […]