Topic > Life Struggles
My Identity Crisis: All I Wanted Was to Fit In
I spent a large part of my adolescence searching for my identity as if it were a lost item to be found. I suppose it was because a large part of my childhood and early teenage years was spent moving between various states in Malaysia before settling in Auckland, New Zealand.
Words matter
Words affect actions! Would you agree with that? Well, today on Discover the Word, team members are joined by author John Townsend to discuss how we can change our entitlement mentality by changing the words we use to describe ourselves. Don’t miss it! It’s a fascinating part of the series titled, “The Entitlement Cure.” Listen […]
When My Hard Work Amounted to Nothing
I know people who are avid fans of Japanese author Haruki Murakami—his most notable books include Norwegian Wood and 1Q84. But while I don’t understand the extent of their fanaticism, I do see why Murakami’s works are so well-received
Doing what’s best
Today on Discover the Word we’re not taking any shortcuts! Author John Townsend joins us to uncover how to do what is best and not just what is comfortable. It’s part of a series called “The Entitlement Cure.” Listen today to Discover the Word!
The Entitlement Cure
There is a harmful disease that affects our businesses, families, and churches. There’s a good chance you have a case of it as well. Today on Discover the Word, the team welcomes author and psychologist John Townsend to discuss the remedy. The problem is entitlement, and the series is called “The Entitlement Cure.” Tune in […]
The Habit of Having No Habits
When we first begin to form a habit, we are fully aware of it. There are times when we are aware of becoming virtuous and godly, but this awareness should only be a stage we quickly pass through as we grow spiritually. If we stop at this stage, we will develop a sense of spiritual pride. The right thing to do with godly habits is to immerse them in the life of the Lord until they become such a spontaneous expression of our lives that we are no longer aware of them. Our spiritual life continually causes us to focus our attention inwardly for the determined purpose of self-examination, because each of us has some qualities we have not yet added to our lives.
Facing Life’s Temptations
Bill battled drug and alcohol addiction for years before gaining victory. From his experience, he’s identified four warning signs of impending relapse: isolation, internal feelings of discontent, frustration and anger, and delusional thinking.
The Other Way
Photographer Oliver Curtis’ exhibit Volte-face (“about turn”) interacts with iconic landmarks—only his images capture what’s found in the opposite direction. So, when he arrived at Stonehenge, he turned 180 degrees before taking his pictures, capturing images that are typically ignored. Curtis says the photos “send [our] gaze elsewhere and . . . favor the incidental over the monumental.”
Why I Stopped Full-Time Work
Two years ago, God called my husband and I to take a year off work to spend time seeking Him. We had just completed our sixth year of work. So I quit my job while my husband took no pay leave.
Gracious Uncertainty
Our natural inclination is to be so precise—trying always to forecast accurately what will happen next—that we look upon uncertainty as a bad thing. We think that we must reach some predetermined goal, but that is not the nature of the spiritual life. The nature of the spiritual life is that we are certain in our uncertainty. Consequently, we do not put down roots. Our common sense says, “Well, what if I were in that circumstance?” We cannot presume to see ourselves in any circumstance in which we have never been.
A Life Lesson in an Elevator
One morning, I was in an elevator travelling down from the 27th floor. It stopped at the 19th floor. “Selamat pagi,” a tourist said as she entered the elevator with her luggage. “Good morning.”
The Story of My Eating Disorder
There are quite a few obstacles I’ve had to overcome in my 23 years of life so far. But each obstacle has only made me stronger. One obstacle in particular was something I never thought I would get through.
An Alternative to Anger
One morning in Perth, Australia, Fionn Mulholland discovered his car was missing. That’s when he realized he had mistakenly parked in a restricted zone and his car had been towed away. After considering the situation—even the $600 towing and parking fine—Mulholland was frustrated, but he decided not to be angry with the person he would work with to retrieve his car. Instead of venting his feelings, Mulholland wrote a humorous poem about the situation and read it to the worker he met at the tow yard. The worker liked the poem, and a possible ugly confrontation never took place.
The book…
The Warning Against Desiring Spiritual Success
Worldliness is not the trap that most endangers us as Christian workers; nor is it sin. The trap we fall into is extravagantly desiring spiritual success; that is, success measured by, and patterned after, the form set by this religious age in which we now live. Never seek after anything other than the approval of God, and always be willing to go “outside the camp, bearing His reproach” (Hebrews 13:13). In Luke 10:20 , Jesus told the disciples not to rejoice in successful service, and yet this seems to be the one thing in which most of us do rejoice.
The Light That Never Fails
A servant of God must stand so very much alone that he never realizes he is alone. In the early stages of the Christian life, disappointments will come— people who used to be lights will flicker out, and those who used to stand with us will turn away. We have to get so used to it that we will not even realize we are standing alone. Paul said, “. . . no one stood with me, but all forsook me . . . . But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me . . .” (2 Timothy 4:16-17). We must build our faith not on fading lights but on the Light that never fails. When “important” individuals go away we are sad, until we see that they are meant to go, so that only one thing is left for us to do— to look into the face of God for ourselves.
