I come from a long line of control freaks. My mother was a control freak with anger issues. My grandmother was a control freak who used sugary sweet manipulation to entangle her victims. And my grandfather was nothing short of a force to be reckoned with. They say the apple doesn’t fall too far from [...]
My husband and I took a two-day trip down to the Shawnee National Forest in Southern Illinois this past week. On one of those two days, we did some hiking. We wandered deep down into the forest on some trails. It took probably less than five minutes before we began to feel the heavy weight [...]
Sandra Bullock’s been in the news quite a bit lately. I think I can speak collectively for most Americans that she has our sympathies due to her husband’s betrayal. We all seem to see her as a victim and feel terribly sorry for her. If not, you’re either a Nazi sympathizer or really into tattooed [...]
When I was a kid, there was a girl who occasionally came to my church that I did not love. I would look at her and think that she was from wrong side of the tracks. She smelled funny and didn’t have the same nice clothes that my friends and I wore. She even acted [...]
Do you know the power of confession? When I was newly married I didn’t. I thought it was better to hide my mistakes. Unfortunately, in hiding my mistakes, I hid myself. Over time, a wall began to erect between me and my husband. I feared even the idea of dropping my guard and being real [...]
Addressing some questions a reader has posed to me regarding “7 Purposes of an Apology.” 1. When do we owe an apology? We need to apologize whenever there is damage done to the other person either emotionally, relationally, spiritually, sexually, physically or monetarily. We also need to give an apology whenever the other person perceives [...]
Just the other day my 16 year old son decided to play a joke on his younger 13 year old brother. While his brother was in the bathroom he held the doorknob so that when his little brother wanted to come out, he couldn’t. Funny joke, right? Not if you’re the one being held hostage [...]
