Monthly Archives: October 2021

Forgive Yourself #3

“Choosing not to forgive yourself is like being the judge, jury, and defendant of your life all at once,” wrote Dr. John Delony a mental health expert who earned two Ph.D.’s from Texas Tech University.

“We put ourselves on trial on an almost daily basis and write our own sentence of condemnation,” Delony observed. “Most of us talk to ourselves in ways that we would never let someone talk to our kids or our neighbors. But we have no problem condemning ourselves. The good news about self-forgiveness is that you can choose to slam down the gavel, dismiss the court, and let yourself off the stand.” Continue reading

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Forgive Yourself #2

“Just as we get angry with other people, we become angry with ourselves for not doing better and making fewer mistakes,” wrote Drs. Frank Minirth and Paul Meier, who are both Psychiatrists and Christian counselors, in their wonderful book Happiness is a Choice.

“We are often critical with ourselves and harder on ourselves than we are on other people,” they observe. “We need to forgive ourselves of past mistakes and sin. God is aware of our weaknesses.”

There are many reasons why people fail to forgive themselves, but we observed three in yesterday’s post, which you ought to read first. This second of a four-part series will consider three consequences of not forgiving ourselves. Continue reading

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Forgive Yourself #1

In his book, The Gift of Forgiveness, Dr. Charles Stanley, tells a true story about a 16-year-old girl named Patsy who came to him confused and desperate.

When she was only 13 she became sexually involved with an 18-year-old boy. This relationship continued for two years until he moved to another state. Feeling “dirty and guilty,” and distraught by his departure, she sought private counseling.

Sadly she became involved with the 30-year-old counselor on whom she had depended for help. Unable to talk to her parents about this she turned to Dr. Stanley. Continue reading

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Sunday Seed Thoughts: The Best Day of the Week

The other day I came across a page from countryliving.com with this bold headline:

20 Best Sunday Quotes That Confirm It’s the Best Day of the Week

Left out of the list were quotes about God. Faith. Church. And worship.

The 20 quotes spoke mainly of relaxing, enjoying the newspaper, sleeping in late, reading a book, or as a lady, Linda Jones, expressed it, “I need some solitary running time. On Sundays, I can unwind and reconnect with the natural world.” Continue reading

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Word of the Week: Examine

I love the 1950’s story that Jimmy Tuten once told about a 13 yr old boy in a small, southern town who walked into the drug store and asked to use the telephone.

The druggist handed him the phone. And he heard the boy say, “Is this you, Dr. Anderson?”

“Well, I was wondering if you would like to hire a boy to mow your lawn and run errands?

“Oh, you already have a boy?”

“Does he do a good job? He does?” Continue reading

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Weekly Recap: October 10-15

Good morning from Beverly Hills, Florida,

It’s been a crazy week with both computer issues and car repairs.  But somehow we’ve managed to post every day.

Hopefully, both issues are now resolved since we’re leaving tomorrow afternoon for The Great Smoky Mountains.  Yes, “the mountains are calling.”

Tomorrow morning, I’m preaching at the West Citrus Church in Crystal River on the topic “Forgive Yourself.”  Then the next two Sundays, I will be preaching in Cosby, Tennessee. Continue reading

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Friday’s List To Live By #60

Dr. David Jeremiah’s “Lists to Live By for Simple Living,” offers 80 lists to bring simplicity, serenity, and symmetry to your life.

Today’s list addresses the issue of happiness, which is something for which we all aspire. In this fast-paced, hectic, and complex world people yearn for contentment. Peace. And harmony.

Don’t let the power and potential of these suggestions elude you because of their simplicity. Continue reading

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Whose Values? What Values?

Even if you’re not a football fan you’ve probably heard about Jon Gruden’s recent resignation as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders.

On Monday The New York Times released vulgar emails from a decade ago by Gruden that contained language described by the media as “homophobic, “misogynistic” and “racist.”

The NFL quickly released a statement denouncing Gruden’s emails as “appalling,” “denigrating,” “abhorrent,” and “wholly contrary to the NFL’s values.” Continue reading

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A Passage To Ponder: 1Peter 1:13-21

Author and evangelical scholar, D. A. Carson,  tells about a time he used to meet with a young man from French West Africa to practice the German language.

The young man was an engineer who need fluency in German in order to pursue a doctoral degree in Germany. His wife resided in London, training to be a medical doctor.

“I soon discovered.” Carson wrote, “ that once or twice a week he disappeared into the red-light district of town. Obviously he went to pay his money and have his woman. Eventually I got to know him well enough that I asked him what he would do if he discovered that his wife was doing something similar in London.” Continue reading

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We Cannot Postpone Living

“We may be able to postpone some decisions but we cannot postpone living,” observed Warren Wiersbe in Looking Up When Life Gets You Down.

This statement jumped out at me as I thumbed through his book looking for something to read.

Wiersbe further reminds us that “Life is a gift from God, and we must treasure it, protect it and invest in it.” Continue reading

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