Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding                   Proverbs 3:5

I was talking with a client the other day discussing the idea of doubt. This client was a bit troubled by his tendency to question his own faith commitment, and he wanted to discuss that. The more we talked, it became clearer to him that questioning faith is actually important. Without questioning faith, there is no room for faith. In other words, if one does not question their beliefs, there is no need for faith.

Faith is like a muscle- it needs to be exercised regularly to maintain strength and viability. Faith that can stand regular scrutiny becomes stronger. It forces us to face ourselves in a very honest way, and to admit that while we do not have certainty, we have trust. Trust is what God requires of us.

There is an old metaphor about faith and trust. The question was “do you have faith that the chair there in the corner can support you? “Yes” is the typical answer. The response then from the questioner is, “then go sit in it, because faith is believing that the chair can hold your weight, trust is sitting in the chair.”

Questioning faith is natural and healthy I believe. Trust is knowing that God can sustain us, no matter how weak or questioning our faith is.  

Prayer: Lord, we do have trust in you, not our own strength of faith, Amen

 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends                              John 15:13

A week or so ago, I wrote about PTSD and how it has come to be seen over the past century. We now, of course have extended the concept of war related trauma to any trauma experienced in life- abuse, injuries, witnessing death and accidents- indeed, there are hosts of possible causes of trauma, and subsequently, PTSD.

While some people are in a world where trauma is rare (thankfully), first responders live in that world every day. My adult children, one a police officer, the other a trauma surgeon, experience trauma on nearly a daily basis. They are professionals, and they know well the costs of their professions. They can discuss PTSD, they understand it, and they find ways to handle it extremely well. They are among thousands of first responders around the world who serve us well.

That however does not mean that it doesn’t affect them. They are committed to their professions, and I am so proud of them. I also write this to remind my dear readers that we need to support our first responders, pray for them, and recognize those costs of keeping us all safe.

Prayer: Lord, we once again pray for those who serve and protect us, even at their own peril, Amen

Don’t you see that children are God’s best gift?
    the fruit of the womb his generous legacy?                                          Psalm 127:3

I recently had the opportunity to celebrate my son-in law’s 50^th birthday with a family gathering. What a joy to have families meet to celebrate a milestone birthday. More importantly, it was a reaffirmation of family. We walked a good distance from the baseball game we attended, and on that walk, there was wonderful heartfelt sharing of life. It was not necessarily intended- it just happened, as many such conversations do. It was one of those “by the way” talks that are so impactful.

I have shared in the past that many impactful discussions happen “side-to-side” rather than face-to-face. Perhaps this gives some freedom to be more open and vulnerable than in discussions that are planned to be more intense.

Whatever the reason, I will cherish such discussions with my children and grandchildren. What a blessing is family…

Prayer: Lord, we are grateful for the love of family, Amen

“Time is more valuable than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time  – Jim Rohn

For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up. ..

From Ecclesiastes 3

How many hours do you spend on your phone each day? No, don’t tell me, but just be aware yourself of how many hours a day you devote to screen time. I get that report on my iPhone every Sunday morning. Sometimes I am really shocked at the amount of time I spend scrolling on social media.

We as a society are spending way more time in front of screens than we are say, reading books. What is this doing to our general well-being? Are we truly better informed, or are we just getting the feeds that algorithms have set before us?

When we choose books or articles to read, we ourselves are curating the content that we want to consume. Hopefully, we choose a wide variety of reading material- current events, fiction, non-fiction, history, specialty information for our careers and interests, etc.

Management of our precious time allotment on earth is so vital.

As we all know, it is pretty easy to get sucked into a reading environment that has been curated for us by some social media giant’s algorithm. Let us just be sure we are in charge of our own reading habits.

Prayer: Lord, help us to use the time that you have given to us wisely, Amen

Joseph replied, “Don’t be afraid. Do I act for God? Don’t you see, you planned evil against me but God used those same plans for my good, as you see all around you right now—life for many people. Easy now, you have nothing to fear; I’ll take care of you and your children.” He reassured them, speaking with them heart-to-heart.                                                                                                                                 Genesis 50: 19-21 (The Message)

I see so many clients who have overcome traumatic situations in their lives. I feel that it is important for me to affirm the struggle that they have had. Admittedly, some do better than others in their recovery, but their experience needs to be validated.

I remind these clients that they are not mere survivors of trauma. They are overcomers. That is, their life is not defined by the trauma, but informed by it. They have used that adverse experience(s) to make their lives better than they would have been without the trauma.

How is that possible? They found strength in themselves that they might not have known that they possessed. They refused to be victims of the trauma, but determined to grow from the trauma, and used it to better their own lives and the lives of others.

So, I always tell these clients to not say that they are survivors. They are overcomers.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the resilience that you have built into us, Amen

Now also when I am old and gray headed, O God, do not forsake me,
Until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to everyone who is to come.

Psalm 71:18

There is a basketball term, used mostly in the past, called “dribbling out the clock”. That was when the team with the lead and possession of the ball would not attempt to score anymore- they would just kill the clock by dribbling the ball until time ran out.

I have used that analogy with people who are in retirement age who are trying to determine what the rest of their life looks like. Will they use retirement to start a second career? Volunteer their time to worthy charitable endeavors? Travel and spend time with grandchildren?

For me, the option of dribbling out the clock is a non-starter. Studies have shown that seniors who have continued to work, or to volunteer their time to the good of the community live longer and healthier lives.

We are not meant to shut things down at a certain age. Certainly, there are those who are physically unable to work or do many activities outside the home. Even people who are limited physically can still be vital in causes and activities that expand their mind, including life-long education programs.

So, dear readers, the question is do we live until we die or do we exist until we die?

I choose to live my life as vigorously as I am able- no dribbling out the clock for me.  

Prayer: Lord, I am grateful for the health and the desire to continue to contribute to the gift of life you gave, Amen

Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life                                             Proverbs 4:23

I was speaking with a client recently about being motivated by guilt. Guilt can indeed motivate us to do things, like – “I really should call ________ but I don’t like to talk to them”. Guilt, however, is a negative motivator. It keeps us away from negative consequences, but it may not give us the satisfaction that other motivators do.

Guilt may serve its purpose, but there is a cost to it. It may leave us with a bad taste in our mouth. We may feel resentment for having been pushed by guilt to do certain things.

On the other hand, love is a great motivator. It leaves us with a sense of hope and renewal of spirit.

 As I have said in this space before, it is better to go toward the good than to avoid the bad.

Prayer: Lord, help us to see the light of the good better than the darkness of evil, Amen

And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being                                                     Genesis 2:7

I was recently speaking with a client about what energizes us- what keeps us going. We agreed that continuing to work in our calling, no matter what our age, is the thing that keeps us going. God has given each of us gifts and callings in our life. Diverse gifts and abilities to be sure, but gifts given to each of us to cultivate and sharpen.

When we use the word inspiration, it really comes for the Latin words meaning “to breathe into.” So, when God breathed into his creation to give it life, we received the “breath of God” that gives life to all things.

God has used all kinds of methods to give life, and his creation has, and continues, to change and evolve. Species have developed elaborate ways to survive even in extreme conditions. God has given all his creation such ability. But from the beginning, God gave the first inspiration- the first breath- the Spirit of life, which remains to this day.

So, what give us that drive to continue? It is the infusion of God’s Spirit that gives energy and life.

Prayer: Lord, you have given us the breath of life and we acknowledge you as the life giver, Amen

But as for me, afflicted and in pain— may your salvation, God, protect me                                    Psalm 69:29

Violence has been a part of human history since… well since there has been history. Even one of the earliest stories in the Bible is the murder of Abel by his brother Cain. Over the millennia, we have become more sophisticated in the ways that we can kill and maim people. Now we even have clinical names for the effects of violence on our psyche and our soul.

Early in the 20^th century as the ravages of a new kind of war (World War I) played out, we came up with the term “shell shocked”. This came about because of the terror that incessant long range artillery bombing had on soldiers under constant stress and duress. A soldier was never safe, and the possibility of imminent death was everywhere at any time.  

When World War II came, we had another word for the terrible psychological effects of war- “combat fatigue”. That seemed like a sanitized word for the horrible effects that battle could bring to bear.

Finally, we named this phenomenon, after the Viet Nam conflict, “Post Traumatic Stress Disorder”. Indeed, that has become part of the lexicon of the DSM 5 and other diagnostic criteria manuals. PTSD is now commonly known and diagnosed for those who have experienced trauma of any kind- abuse, exposure to long-term stress, and even to those who have witnessed such traumatic events.

The term and the concept are valid. Truly, I see many clients who have experienced trauma, or been subject to its effects, and it give us a common parlance to discuss such injury. We know also that early trauma actually changes the way that people perceive their environment, and early trauma literally changes brain development.

We will delve more into this in future blogs. In the meantime, we all must become more aware of how trauma informs our life and our world.

Prayer: Lord, you are the healer who can bring about peace in a violent world, Amen.    

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.                                                                Psalm 147:3

“A healed femur.” That was the response to a question posed to famed anthropologist Margaret Mead when she was asked about the first signs of a civilized society. She stated that a healed femur showed evidence of a society that cared for the feeble and injured among themselves. In a society where a member had a serious injury, such as a broken long leg bone, the femur, they would need care to survive. They could not hunt or gather, or be much help to the rest of the group, so an uncivilized society would cast them out or leave them for dead.

But a caring, civilized society would help to feed and care for the wounded among them. Thus, evidence of a healed femur meant that those around that victim had worked to save them and restore them to health.

We take such care for granted, and I trust that such compassion remains a standard in a society that seems to be drifting toward less care for one another.

Prayer: Lord, continue to remind us of our duty to care for one another, Amen.