Success is Great
Counselors Reflect on Dangerous Calling by Paul Tripp A Series to Care for the Care Takers of God’s People “Without knowing that I was doing it, I took God’s faithfulness to me, to his people, to the work of his kingdom, to his plan of redemption, and to his church as an endorsement of me.” It feels great to succeed. This is what you went to seminary for, right? Making a difference in the world for the cause of Christ is thrilling. This is what God has been preparing you for all these years and now your faithfulness to his call is paying off. The challenge can be intimidating and...
Read MoreKnowing Christ
Counselors Reflect on Dangerous Calling by Paul Tripp A Series to Care for the Care Takers of God’s People “Maturity is not merely something you do with your mind (although that is an important element of spiritual maturity). It is about how you live your life. It is possible to be theologically astute and be very immature. It is possible to be biblically literate and be in need of significant spiritual growth.” (Paul David Tripp, page 25) How long have you been a believer? Five years, ten years, 20 or more years? In the time you have been a believer, perhaps you, like me, have heard stories...
Read MoreThe Holiday Blues
It’s inevitable for most people. We break out of the routine and spend lots of time doing little more than anticipating and preparing for the biggest holiday in our culture. Some of us get energized (and rightfully so. It does celebrate the birth of Jesus and a fulfillment of a promise made so long ago!). But some of us fall prey to sadness on multiple levels. Perhaps this is your first Christmas without a loved one. Perhaps it’s another Christmas without a spouse or a pregnancy. Maybe you’re an empty nester and the silence of your house is the loudest part of your day. Or perhaps...
Read MoreStrengthened by Grace
Counselors Reflect on Dangerous Calling by Paul Tripp A Series to Care for the Care Takers of God’s People “You are most loving patient, kind and gracious when you are aware that there is no truth that you could give to another that you don’t desperately need yourself. You are most humble and gentle when you think that the person you are ministering to is more like you than unlike you.” It should be easy to see the theme of pride and self-righteousness in these statements. When we believe we are different from others we severely impede our ability to be sympathetic and...
Read MoreHealthy Ways to Capture Memories
In the end, grief is about how we remember. Memory is powerful. It shapes our lives in many ways. Memory impacts our emotions. Memory shapes the significance we give to current events. Memory influences what we expect from the future. So the effort to grieve well could be reframed as learning to remember in healthy ways. Too often we try to define “getting over grief” as “moving past” our loss, which implies forgetting or not thinking about our loved one. We rightly resist this conception of grief. But unless we have a healthy alternative, we avoid one error and get trapped in painful...
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