The rails to trails is a great use of unused tracks and an excellent resource for communities. Today we walked a portion of our local trail and it was busy with both bike and walking traffic. Not everyone is a fan of the trails. For some, it means a public trail through the middle of …

Sunday was a beautiful day in northern Indiana; the first really nice day this spring. So, we went for a bike ride. Just as in many other places, our community has turned old railroad tracks into trails so a person can ride for miles on paved trails through woodland, farmland and open meadows. The roads …

Songs sometimes summarize in the best way what I am feeling or wanting to say in the moment. In this moment, I want you to know that you are fully accepted, deeply loved and eternally chosen to be a child of the King. From this place of knowing, you can be everything you were meant …

The greatest enemy of my personal success is self-talk. That’s what I say to myself that no one else hears but everyone can see because it impacts how I live. I read isolated phrases from scripture, like Philippians 2:3: …thinking of others as better than yourselves. Philippians 2:3 and use it to justify putting myself …

Learning to care for myself has been a difficult task. I want to avoid self-centered habits. After all, the universe does not revolve around my belly button, no matter how much I might believe the opposite. It seems there is a fine line between boundaries and self-care and self-obsessed living. How do I make the …

Years ago, I found myself involved in a boundary-centered religious setting. The premise of this type of group is boundaries keep us “in” and the bad “out.” It is possible to know who is “in” by observing external behaviors. I am the perfect candidate for this setting because I am also a recovering approval addict. …

Fear motivates me to all kinds of dysfunctional behaviors. When I feel unsafe, I switch into self-preservation mode. It is a natural instinct to protect oneself from harm or destruction. I even see it in my 4 month old granddaughter. When she perceives she is under attack, her eyes flutter, she pulls her head away …

In the beginning, God created. He created a perfect earth where humans would dwell, living in perfect harmony with God, others, the earth and self. And then came the serpent. He asked questions, distorted the truth, causing Adam and Eve to doubt God’s goodness, love, and intention for them. They accepted the lie, believed it …

We are a “self” consumed society. Opening the Google search bar and typing in “self,” resulted in all kinds of interesting options. Self-efficacy, self-actualization, self-esteem, self-sufficient…all focused on understanding our self. There are books, conferences, studies devoted to understanding our true self, exposing the false self, living from a place of integrity. All of these …

Happy Sunday! Today whether you listen online, take a walk in nature or attend a service in person, my prayer is that you encounter the Living God! I remind you that we have not been given a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind! No matter where your comfort level is …