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I was startled when my four-year old crept into our darkened room. I glanced at the bedside clock—3:00 AM—and was concerned . He never did that. He said he had a bad dream, also a first. Though sleepy, my words of comfort came easily: “I’m your Dad. I’m here, and

You are special. Whether you know it or not, and even if you don’t feel you are. You are unique, with gifts and talents that position you to add value to the world and serve other people. You are designed to do good work. Understanding Your Design Your strengths make

If you were given 3 wishes for someone you care deeply about, what would you choose? Since this is just a game (well, sort of), let’s add a couple of rules. First, we’ll say that all versions of “wealth, health, or happiness” are off limits. And, second, you can’t wish

I had gone back and forth about coming, but somehow found myself driving the crowded van toward Jacksonville. We were running late, so most of the crowd was already in the stadium as we wound our way up the ramps to the upper deck. Finally, we found our gate and

What does “safety” mean to you? To me, it is when home means security and happiness, and feeling I am where I was meant to be. Safety is relationships built on kindness and authenticity. It is anticipating tomorrow as a good day, perhaps with its own problems, but without self-induced

I went to Celebrate Recovery for several years. It is an understatement to say it was one of the most wonderful experiences I have ever had. Some of the life-changing discoveries the program brings include: We all have issues. Some of us just don’t realize it yet. The hardest step

Last week, I spent two days in a conference room with twenty or so business leaders from my city, which is Birmingham, Alabama. We were there to experience an executive version of Lifework Leadership, a program about how God works transforming leaders who, in turn, transform cities. I believe God

The last STEPS Journey Blog article on “How to Create a 1-Hour Life Plan” outlined a simple process to help you focus your time on things that matter. That sounds good. And the opening sentence dripped with aspiration with the promise: “In 60 minutes, you can change the trajectory of

Around Christmas, regular people actually talk about Jesus. Much more than they normally do. Kept within limits, it becomes almost politically correct, as long as the reference is offered in the holiday context of celebrating the birth of the baby Jesus. For example, people talk about when Jesus was born.

Mom’s birthday is today.   After church, we’ll treat her to lunch at Cracker Barrel, one of her favorites. She’ll likely order the “Chicken N’ Dumplins” platter with three vegetables and open our present, three just right mystery books–not gory, but not too tame. Tomorrow night, we’re going to take

This past Saturday was just another day. Except for the part about me turning 60. For months, I had been waiting for this to turn into a big occasion, but it didn’t. And that’s okay. In fact, it seems to be the way this milestone was meant to be for

Some people ask, “How am I supposed to believe in an invisible God?” My answer would be, “Who told you that he was invisible?” “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is

We have just endured one of the most vicious and controversial Presidential elections in history. Unfortunately, the two sides are not handling it well. One is happy, the other sad and angry, but mistakes are being made by both groups. Many people are not pausing to think through how to

Is finding purpose at work a realistic goal? For many of us, that aspiration seems hazy at best, and far-fetched most of the time. But in the last STEPS Journey Blog article, we saw that we can involve God in the workplace. And, by doing so, we can make progress

It took me a long time to even consider the notion of God in the workplace. In my late thirties, I started (sort of) getting more into the church thing. My work week would be busy, and Saturday was “do something fun” day, but I started looking forward to going

Virtually every family I know has issues and problems. They have had good lives and built happy families. Most would say that, overall, they have been very blessed. But, sometime in their forties or fifties, things started going downhill.         Life is a journey, and there are peaks and valleys

Talking about the ‘practicality of spirituality’ sounds like an oxymoron. Practicality deals with facts rather than ideas, and spirituality is about the unseen aspects of faith. Does that make those terms contradictory? No, because people who follow a spiritual path can find practical benefits, and there are many clear facts

We are designed to live in relationship with others. Why don’t we always act that way? This comes less naturally to many men than for women. We have acquaintances, maybe even a few friends for golf or fishing. Too often, however, we don’t really share life with people. We keep

Acts of kindness, the ones that really matter, are anything but random. If something is random, that means it occurred by chance or without reason. But kindness is when we do something considerate–on purpose–to benefit someone other than ourselves. Or when God puts us in a situation and prompts us