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Four Uncomfortable Truths about Peace
Peace is an essential component of a fulfilling life. Constant conflict spends our energies, wastes our strength, and distracts us from the really good things in life. But we often settle for an imitation of peace rather than the real thing. I often settled for a harmony that was not real because instinctively I knew that real peace would require me to make some real sacrifices. In fact, I have faced quite a few situations in which a genuine accord seemed impossible so I accepted something far less in order to avoid a reality that I did not want to admit to. The real deception, of course, was that I…
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Be a Narcissism Detector with 1 Test
Now that I am seventeen years free of being held captive in an abusive marriage, I am quite a good narcissism detector. But a friend recently recommended the youtube videos of a life coach named Richard Brannon in Southern California. He made some extremely wise connections that answered some serious questions that I could never seem to get answered. (I am putting a link to his channel at the end of this blog. He is excellent, but he uses language that some might find difficult to listen to.) Seriously, he is the best narcissism detector I have heard. His first observation that struck me was that if you want to…
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The Religion of Appeasement: God as Idol
Generally, when we seek to appease someone, we turn them into an idol. One of the misconceptions we have about idols is the assumption that we love our idols. And we love some of them, I’m sure. The love of money is a common one. But the other common denominator in idolatry is fear. Proverbs says Appease an angry man and you will do it again. How common is it for us to get caught up in a cycle of appeasement? I think it starts in childhood in many families. If the child transgresses (a not uncommon occurrence) and parents get angry, that child quickly learns how to turn the…
Healing Through Art & Words
