My definition of “crisis” and my approach to crisis intervention changed as I moved from one developmental stage to another. New discoveries, expanded awareness, and exposure to new experiences changed my perspective of what’s important. For instance, the grass around our house wasn’t a problem issue when I was seven. It was just grass. Unless there was some weird bug crawling in it ugly enough to warrant catching it and putting it in a jar, I was barely aware that grass existed. I had real problems to worry about, like the danger of Continue reading
Temptation’s Awful Offspring
I had a friend years ago whose brother was considerably older. Whenever questions arose about the difference in their ages, he would say that his mom always called him her “little surprise.” We hadn’t been exposed to a barrage of reproductive information back then like today’s kids are, but we knew what his mom meant. Creating another mouth to feed wasn’t the objective of their intimate moment, but in spite of that, life was initiated anyway. Multitudes of moms have echoed their stories of being “surprised” by the outcome of some romantic interlude. A shared element in every story is that Continue reading
Hey, Don’t Blame Me!
Someone once said that if you see a guy smiling calmly in the midst of a disaster he created, it’s because he’s already figured out who else he can blame it on. If that’s the case, my older brother must have had a happy childhood because his skill at using me to deflect blame would have made liberal politicians and some media people envious. He always seemed to find some way to make it look like I was the culprit–like that time he used my Continue reading
“Church” ~ By Any Other Name . . .
Shakespeare’s Juliet declared to Romeo that “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” indicating that it was not his name that granted him the qualities that she loved. True as that may have been for her, names do tend to have influence over expectations, and that trend didn’t die with Shakespeare. Names are often designed to foster 
preconceived notions regarding the qualities inherent in the item bearing them, and they can be quite helpful that way, but not always. For instance, if one were to try to figure out what “church” is all about these days simply by perusing a list of the names of institutions claiming to be one, it would be hard not to come away incredibly confused. There is every kind of Continue reading
What’s Your Superpower? ~ Guest Post by Beckie Lindsey
Guest Post Intro ~ Sometimes interruptions are good things, even when they’re a bit painful. God granted me one of those this week. Both of my hip joints were replaced years ago, and apparently, the devices that were installed are creating problems. The metal in my blood from the titanium devices has reached toxic levels and Continue reading
“Loss Prevention” ~ A Divine Approach
The shock on her face was unmistakable. It was a silent proclamation that the panic button had already been pushed and our relaxing Sunday afternoon had just come to a screeching halt. Actual words soon joined forces with the look and the situation gained clarity. “My credit card’s gone,” she said. “I looked everywhere and can’t find it.”
The case of the missing plastic money immediately overshadowed everything and assumed undisputed sovereignty over our priority list. Finding it was the sole objective toward which all available resources were directed. The process was challenging, but we had experienced it before, because strange things sometimes happen in our house. Keys have somehow crawled off on their own to hide in places we would never have intentionally put them. Tax documents have been known to elope with one another in an attempt to Continue reading
