Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we also have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and so we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.  Not only so, but we also boast in tribulation, knowing that tribulation produces patience,  patience produces character, and character produces hope.  And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us                                                      Romans 5:1-5

There is real value in the simple phrase- “There is a solution to every problem”. The reason that this is so powerful as a fundamental belief is that it allows us to continue to seek for solutions. If our core belief is that there is a way to figure out something good out of a problem situation, we will keep looking for that solution.

The solution might not be one that we originally considered. The solution may be that we need help from others to solve a problem. The solution might be acceptance of things that we cannot change. The point is, if we believe that a solution is possible, we will continue to pursue it.

The saying is really of value in terms of the idea of looking for solutions rather than assuming that what we face is impossible. Yes, many people face daunting and terrible problems, often not of their own making. Yet the concept of finding a way out of our current difficult situation is worth the consideration.

Prayer: Lord, help us to continue to persevere, even when things look bleak, Amen

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful, I know that full well.                                                                  Psalm 139:14 (KJV)

I heard recently of a company’s clinical study about their treatment drug for migraine headaches. The company shared the results of the study in their advertising. Those participants that had received the studied medication indeed had fewer migraines per month than those who had received the placebo. However, the difference was small- about 2 less migraines per month. Based upon the study parameters however, this reduction was statistically significant. Therefore, the makers of the studied medication could advertise that their medication reduced migraines more than the placebo.

As I thought about the raw numbers, the difference in performance was minimal. Yes, based on the study parameters, the difference was significant, but the actual experienced difference was minimal.

All this is to say that the effects of placebos can be powerful. People who believe that they are receiving a remedy are often prone to experience some relief, even if the dose they received was just a sugar pill or a saline injection. The power of our mind, especially in regard to pain relief, is not to be minimized. If we are given hope, and attention, we often experience a curative effect no matter what the medication.

I recall a mentor from many years ago, a psychiatrist named Dr. Arnold Allen (a brilliant man, by the way), who cited studies about mental health treatment in the old state hospitals. He noted that studies of the newer psychoactive medications being trialed in the 1950’s, had to account for the effect of the increased attention paid to the patients in the trial studies. Just the fact that the patients were receiving increased attention from staff was indeed found to be helping in symptom relief, and it often resulted in more normal patient behaviors. It was not always just the effect of the medications in the studies.

So, our mind is a healing tool. Expectation of positive results often is healing in itself.

Prayer: Lord, you have made us in amazing ways! Amen

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.                                       II Corinthians 10:5

By Mastroianni and Hart

Thanks to www.johnhartstudios.com

I have been a fan of the B.C. comic strip for decades, not only because of its humor, but because of the life truths it often portrays. The other day, the strip really nailed it on how anxiety works. I have often said that anxiety is that self-defeating part of us that we carry around. It is our “unwanted traveling partner”.

When we can recognize that this situation exists, we can then prepare for it. Expecting that the anxiety will pop up, and it will, we can begin our control plans. We can have our list of “escape strategy” behaviors ready to deal with anxiety.

In the comic, B.C. is expecting the anxiety to kick in, just when he is having a great day. He then invites the anxiety to ruin it, almost heading it off before it sneaks up on him. This is his way of trying to control anxiety before it has a chance to control him.

There is much truth in humor. Knowing that WE are in control of the anxiety stops the anxiety from controlling us!

Prayer: Lord, you have given us tools to handle our emotions. Help us to use them wisely, Amen

“Never will I leave you;
    never will I forsake you.” So, we say with confidence “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
    What can mere mortals do to me?”

Hebrews 3:5-6

I was speaking to a client recently who had lost her adult son to death through alcoholism. Her grief is palpable, and she is recovering as best a parent can who has lost a child. Actually, there is perhaps some level of acceptance of the reality of the loss, but the pain is always there lurking to some degree. Yes, it recedes over time, but it never completely goes away.   

As parents, this is a forever covenant. Certainly, we launch our children into adulthood, and typically, if they are blessed, have children of their own. But we are always a parent. We always root for our kids’ success. We hurt if they hurt. We rejoice when they rejoice. We are always their parents.

As I have said in the past, I did not completely understand (and I certainly still don’t) the love of God until I had my own children. God said “Never will I leave you;never will I forsake you.” He said that as our Creator and loving Father.

So, we parents get the joy, and occasionally the burden, of parenthood. But no matter what, we are always parents.

What a privilege!

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the gift of parenthood, Amen

See, you want truth deep within the heart. And You will make me know wisdom in the hidden part. Psalm 51:6 (New Life Version)

This above all: to thine own self be
true, and it must follow as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to
any man

William Shakespeare (from Hamlet)

I recently talked with a client about being aware of
how he felt and being able to express those feelings safely with others. Some
people struggle to do this because it is a somewhat difficult exercise. This
particular client told me that he believes that he is on the Autism Spectrum,
and that such things come hard to him because he has never really been able to
have a safe place to even bring his feelings to the front of his awareness.

He is having some relationship issues so he decided
that he needed counseling. We discussed the idea that his expression of those
inner feelings can be almost invisible to him. When he feels fear or sadness
for example- or a mixture of both- it often comes out looking like anger.
Others, like his wife and adult child, then are hurt by what they see as anger.
My client then gets confused as to how to reconnect with them because he could
not really see how the process played out.  

He is growing and trying new things. I have so much
respect for him because this is new territory for him, and it feels strange and
perhaps scary. What a brave person he is! Trying new things, whatever they
might be, can be daunting and scary.

Yet, when we stretch, we grow.

Prayer: Lord, give us the strength to try
new things for growth, Amen

“Be curious!”                                                                                                                                                     Ted Lasso

“It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.”                                                                           John Wooden

Wise men and women are always learning, always listening for fresh insights                                Proverbs 18:15 (The Message)

I was recently speaking with a client about the need to be relevant. As we get older, we need to work hard to stay relevant, that is, to be aware of what is going on in the world, and to have some impact upon that world. I used one of my favorite quotes from basketball Hall of Fame coach  John Wooden, “It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts!” I also quoted that famous philosopher of positive thinking, Ted Lasso, “Be curious”.

Indeed, as we get older, we can get set in our ways, convinced that the old ways are best. Truly, ancient and accrued wisdom is of great value, but we must also temper that with the idea that our sense of certainty can be a stumbling block for new wisdom.

So, stay curious my friends. Be open for new knowledge, and for different ways of looking at our own perceived orthodoxy. We grow in our faith as we challenge it. Our muscles, even our ideas, are meant to be challenged and exercised in order to grow.

I want to stay relevant by learning from others, and by being open to new and different ideas and different cultures. Reading and traveling are great ways to stay relevant and continually learning.

So, stay curious, my friend!

Prayer: Lord, you have made us to be curious beings- what a blessing! Amen

There’s more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next…                                             Romans 5:3-4 (The Message)

I have written in blogs past about making small, deliberate, practical changes in order to gain more of a sense of peace and control in our life. Built up over time, such regular disciplines lead to enduring positive change. The key word here is “time”. We all want to feel better right away. We are the epitome of a culture of instant gratification, and we have an insatiable need for immediate results.  

That is why weight loss, for example, is advertised in extreme terms. “Lose 30 pounds in 30 days!” Fat sculpting surgery seems to be the remedy for removal of unwanted fat. On and on we see that immediate relief is wanted, indeed expected. I too have the same malady. When my computer, for example, does not instantly respond to my commands, I can become irritated.

I tell my clients that the drugs that are addictive are the ones that give immediate relief. Indeed, anything that gives immediate relief and pleasure becomes addictive. Food, sex, alcohol, pain killers, gambling, pornography, and other forms of immediate pleasure, all have an addictive potential.

The slow, steady approach to life changes is the only way that works in the long run. No, it is not easy, nor is it quick. However, that approach does work, and it has been thus ever since the world began. We just think that we have a better, quicker way to do things.

Innovation, inventions and other time and labor-saving devices are remarkable and they are a blessing. However, when it comes to human behavior and life changes, slow and steady always wins.

Prayer: Lord, help us to have the patience and discipline to make the lasting changes you would have for us, Amen.

 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.                                                                                               Ephesians 4:15

The other day I got to thinking about a situation with one of my clients, and I asked myself, “would I share that particular thought with my client?” I had been thinking about some issues the client had discussed, and while that issue was no longer relevant to treatment, I stopped for a moment because it struck me that, while my observation was probably true, it would not be helpful to share it as feedback.

The idea of having a filter of “true and helpful” struck me as a pretty solid framework for deciding feedback. I can have a certain idea that I feel is true, but if it would not be helpful to share, I do not share it. Obviously, if something were not true, even if it would possibly helpful, I would not share it. By that I mean, sharing a false affirmation or sentiment that I did not believe  would not ultimately be helpful.

It is similar, perhaps, to “speaking the truth in love”, though not exactly the same. If I have a truth, but cannot deliver it in love, then it should not be shared. Often, I think truth cannot be truly heard unless it is delivered in love.

Alas, I am not perfect in this since I love imperfectly. Yet, I like these ethical standards as guidelines for care.

Prayer: Lord, you have entrusted to us care for one another. Help us to steward it well, Amen

This is a repeat of one of my past favorites. I Hope you enjoy it…

The Woman at the Well

A woman, a Samaritan, came to draw water. Jesus said, “Would you give me a drink of water?” (His disciples had gone to the village to buy food for lunch.)

 The Samaritan woman, taken aback, asked, “How come you, a Jew, are asking me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?” (Jews in those days wouldn’t be caught dead talking to Samaritans.)

 Jesus answered, “If you knew the generosity of God and who I am, you would be asking me for a drink, and I would give you fresh, living water.”                                                                                                      John 4:7-10 (The Message)

I bought this painting (a reproduction), titled The Woman at the Well, when my wife and I visited the Barnes Museum in Philadelphia several years ago. This painting almost jumped off the wall at me. When I learned the history of the artist, Horace Pippin, it made sense to me why I was drawn to it. Let me tell you his story in brief.

Horace Pippin was an African-American who was a part of the “Harlem Hell Fighters” in World War I. The U.S Army was segregated in those days, so he was part of an all African-American unit which ended up spending more time in combat than any other American unit in that war.

Pippin was injured in the war, shot by a German sniper in the right shoulder. After the injury, he was only able to paint by holding one arm under the other for support as he painted. Perhaps this led to his simple, yet powerful style.

Pippin was keenly aware of racial struggles- he lived in the midst of them. Several of his paintings reflect his commentary on discrimination, and the injustice of the times he lived through. 

This painting spoke to me from afar as we walked through the museum. I was struck first by the garments of both Jesus and the woman. They are very bright white, and of equal tone. The figures are also are very nearly equal in height. Both of these rendering techniques are a symbol of our equality in the eyes of Jesus.

I also noted that the woman was kind of thick around her waist, in contrast to her regularly sized face. Could she be pregnant?

Finally, there bis a red glow in the background, likely her city. This is the city to where she would return and become an evangelist of the man she had just met. Where other people saw her as a broken woman, Jesus saw her as an evangelist of good news.

I think Pippin captured something deep in this painting. He was a man familiar with inequality, and he was a man familiar with pain. To me, this comes out beautifully in his art.

I am not an art collector, nor do I know much about art. But I know when my soul is stirred by a piece of art, and this did it to me. I share it with you for your enjoyment. I think it is a great statement about the artist and his Savior.

Prayer: Thank you Father for the gift of art, and the power that can be drawn from it, Amen.

 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:   Who, being in very nature God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
 rather, he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.
 And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death—
        even death on a cross!

Philippians 2:5-8

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”                     (Variously attributed)

Do you remember the WWJD bracelets? What Would Jesus Do? The idea was to put people in the mindset of Jesus. We are called to have that same mind as Christ in our relationships with other people. We are called to stand for the dignity of all people whom God has created. So, when we see oppression or injustice toward others we are called to respond.

When we see a White supremacist group march on Washington, as we witnessed on July 4^th, we are called as Christians to stand against it. I trust that many people have registered their opposition to such hatred. I hope so.

Yes, these groups have the legal right to express their opinions, but opposition to such groups also must be clear and pervasive. There is no room in a Christian mindset- the mind of Christ- for such disregard for others.

Prayer: Lord, help us to better discern the mind of Christ in regard to how we treat others, Amen