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Denial: Four Ways It Destroys You and Your Family
Firstly, let me say that I am a past master of denial. One cannot stay in an abusive marriage for as long as I did and not have expertise in the exercise of denial. But often, we misunderstand what exactly is being denied when we talk about this subject. Often, it isn’t the situation that we are unable to face, but our feelings about the situation. I could admit that my husband was abusive. What I couldn’t admit to was the fear, agony, anger, and helplessness I felt within an abusive marriage. And so I convinced myself I was just making the best of a bad situation. When we consider…
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Repentance and the Way of Neuroplasticity
I once offended a woman by extolling the virtues of repentance to her. I believe the misunderstanding lay in our definition of the word. I think the image she had in her mind was of penitents on their knees making a painful trek to the Vatican. My image was of Christian in front of the Cross in Pilgrim’s Progress shedding his burden of sin and shame. Say the word repentance and we often default to condemnation and the list of our shortcomings we carry in the back of our minds. Of course, she may have just been angry at the idea that she had anything to repent of. We have…
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The Painful Truth about Spiritual Rebellion
Spiritual rebellion is not a popular topic for the sermon of the week. I think that is because even pastors can be somewhat unclear as to what it really is. The word, rebellion, summons up pouty teenagers staying out past curfew or military coups somewhere overseas. Most people I ask believe that spiritual rebellion is disobeying God. I suppose it is in a very vague sense, though occasionally I do disobey God, and I am no longer in spiritual rebellion. Spiritual rebellion is an incredibly painful rejection of the life that God has given you. Do you wish you had been born to another family? Do you wish that you…
Healing Through Art & Words
