Monthly Archives: September 2011
Is failure avoidable or permanent?
Success and failure are important to us. Early in life we learn that it is a bad thing to fail (however we learn to define that word) and a good thing to succeed. Failure isn’t something we broadcast since we don’t want others to know we’ve messed up. Later we realize there is a huge difference between failing and Read the rest of this entry
Facing Risk to Choose My Future
Enough! The brutal oppression had been growing until they were totally demoralized and broken. They had tried to make things work as best they could but no one was fooled. They had become helpless slaves bereft of hope. Their oppressors had become more brutal with the passing of time, treating them worse than low-value livestock. They seemed to have no conscience about Read the rest of this entry
Natural disaster, death, suffering and pain in life
Sometimes life serves us a raw deal. Hard stuff happens until we simply cannot ignore it any more. Death, sickness, financial loss, social disgrace, rejection by loved ones, action by enemies, natural disasters . . . it’s a long and ugly list. Most of us are afraid these things will come to us and uncertain of how we will deal with them when our turn comes. One approach is to pretend they are not really there and deny the reality of what we are experiencing. That’s denial; it is not faith. Even denial has its limits and when they are reached our “faith” is exhausted too. Then what? Read the rest of this entry
My need for approval
The challenge of fear: reasons I am afraid of people and what they think.
- I don’t believe in myself. My self-confidence is eroded by my sense of inadequacy, I am not sure of my abilities and insights so I won’t do anything without a high level of approval from others. Sometimes Read the rest of this entry
How to keep everyone happy.
In a way it was the short straw. He’d been chosen to be the first king the nation had ever had and he had to work out how to balance all the expectations placed on him. The job description was vague and no one really knew what his limits were. On top of that, these unruly people were strong-willed and aggressively independent. He knew that he had to keep them happy at the same time as he Read the rest of this entry
Faith, Fear and Impossible Odds Fighting Terrorists
It is a fascinating story of dysfunction. There was a group of hoods just hanging out doing what terrorists, robbers and opportunists always do so well – being a nuisance and making life miserable for their victims. They had succeeded in coercing some of the regular citizens to join them, the sort of people who Read the rest of this entry
Overcoming fear, facing danger
He was young and short on experience but he recognized danger when he saw it. This was danger. He also knew the stupidity of ignoring danger – which means he must have been at least in his mid-twenties and past the stage of life when he thought of himself as invincible. Life does that, it tempts us Read the rest of this entry
Letting fear rule our lives
Letting fear rule our lives explores the impact fear has on us and some ways we can retake control of our lives. Some fear helps us balance our lives,but fear can never be allowed to control us.
The Aramean army was well prepared and trained. The soldiers had plenty of supplies and plenty Read the rest of this entry
