Lest this blog get sin-heavy, let me be quick and sure to say that life happens. Suffering happens. There is no escape. It isn’t always tied to our sin and it’s not necessarily a consequence. James 1 comes to mind when I think about “life” happening. Chapter 1, verse 2 says, “My brethren, count it…
When Sin Explodes
Sin doesn’t “just” explode. Let me rephrase–sin explodes, and it seems spontaneous, but it isn’t. Solomon captured it well. After describing a naive young man’s journey through town at dusk–and the woman of the night’s many preparations–“all at once” he finds himself in trouble. All at once he is “caught fast,” not knowing it will cost…
A Place to Return
We pulled out family videos over the holidays. There was a lot of “helping” by older children–especially when it came to opening gifts. And we sat through the infamous “Family Olympics” in the backyard. “You mean all we did was run in circles?” one of the girls asked as she watched her dad give instructions…
“Don’t put a period where God has put a comma.”
The quote in the title is attributed to Actress, Gracie Allen. I believe it has implications for walking counselees through a fuller picture of the Gospel. In Biblical counseling it is important to build involvement with our counselee by connecting with them and looking for where they are, where we want to go, and common…
Four Words that Help to Define Biblical Counseling
Take a look at this thought provoking post written by Paul Tautges and published on the Biblical Counseling Coalition website. Four Words that Help to Define Biblical Counseling
Let’s be Biblical, Counselors
If you are reading this, you are either a Biblical counselor, or interested in Biblical Counseling. Biblical Counseling is tapping into the power of the Gospel, through the work of the spirit as he shows us the Gospel in His word…maybe. While we say we are “Biblical” counselors, we sometimes function as if we are…
BIBLICAL COUNSELING HOMEWORK: THE MECHANICS OF DISCIPLESHIP
One of the biggest challenges that biblical counselors face is what homework to assign their counselees. I believe there are a few reasons for that. First of all, there may be a lack of confidence on the part of the biblical counselor in knowing how to apply scriptural tools to the life issues of the…
Why I Pursued Biblical Counseling Certification
One week in late January a young woman from church invited me to the Biblical Counseling Conference in Lafayette, IN. Our children were 7, 9, 12 and 14 years old. “Yeah, like that’s going to happen,” I thought, but my husband offered to hold down the fort and I went. After attending a couple more…
Community Crisis and Response: A Follow up to the April Meeting
I had just turned nine when the Columbine High School Massacre stunned the nation. It was April of 1999 at my elementary school, just three miles from Columbine, where in the middle of an ordinary school day my third grade teacher took a phone call that drained all of the color from her face. We…
The Habits of Worship
You are probably thinking that this is a post about spiritual disciplines. So, is it? Yes and No. Spiritual disciplines are included, more on that in a minute, but they are not primarily what we are here to talk about. All of us know that we and others need to read our Bible more, pray…
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