“There are more things likely to frighten us than there are to crush us; we suffer more often in imagination than in reality .” Seneca How much of our suffering is real, and how much is created by the stories we tell ourselves? I think about this as different situations arise in my own life as well as in those around me. The human mind has an incredible imagination. It is capable of creating magnificent works of art, breathtaking inventions, and beautiful dreams. Yet that

"To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover the prisoner was you." — Lewis B. Smedes For many years, I misunderstood forgiveness. I thought it was something we did for someone else. If another person hurt us, betrayed us, abandoned us, or disappointed us, forgiveness seemed like letting them off the hook. It felt unfair. Why should they be forgiven when they caused the pain? Then one day I heard a simple truth: forgiveness is not about them—it is about you. That real

“The two hardest tests on the spiritual road are the patience to wait for the right moment and the courage not to be disappointed with what we encounter.” Paulo Coelho Patience is a hard lesson to learn. We live in a world of instant gratification which makes it even more difficult to be patient. We have learned that we can have a bowl of popcorn in two minutes where it used to take up to ten minutes for the pot to heat up and the kernels to start and finish popping. We ca

“You're only here for a short visit. Don't hurry, don't worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way.” Walter Hagen Growing up, I believed God was watching every move I made, waiting for me to mess up. The image I carried of Him was not one of love and comfort, but of judgment and punishment. Sunday after Sunday I sat listening to warnings about sin, mistakes, and consequences. It felt as though perfection was required and any misstep would bring disappointment from

“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26 There have been many moments in my life when I wished that everything could be revealed all at once. Wouldn’t it be easier if every question we carried in our hearts was answered instantly? I have cried out to God more than once, asking, “Help me understand.” There is a deep yearning within us to kno

“Anxiety is just repeatedly experiencing failure in advance.” —Seth Godin There was a time when I would wake up and immediately start running mental marathons. What if this goes wrong? What if I’m not enough? What if the future I’m dreaming of never arrives? Before the day had even begun, I had already lived through a dozen imaginary failures — and none of them were real. The angels once told me that anxiety is the echo of a story we’ve told ourselves too many times. It’s

“Do one thing every day that scares you.” Eleanor Roosevelt I have coached many people who face huge hurdles every day as they face...