As we looked at in the last lesson, we want to work at being at our best in order to be at our best for others, and the most important thing we can do to be at our best is learn how to forgive.  When people hurt us it’s like being physically cut.  Some cuts are bigger than others, but, … [Read more...]

Sometimes the best way to be nice to others is to be nice to ourselves – does that sound contradictory? The truth is when we’re at our best (i.e. rested and feeling confident), we’re going to be our best for others.  It’s also a lot easier for me to be nice to others in a healthy way when I’m … [Read more...]

Being nice in a healthy way means not being a pushover.  In fact, being nice in a healthy way can be awkward for those who are pushovers because it involves standing up for yourself – there’s a strange idea for overly nice people.  So what does this healthy nice look like? Here’s a simple … [Read more...]

Over the last year I’ve written over 40 lessons on what it means to be nice in a healthy way.  Considering I’m supposed to be a Jesus follower, you’d think I would’ve considered the idea of looking at what it means to be nice to God a little sooner.  On one hand, it’s better late than … [Read more...]

I was recently talking to a mom who said she didn’t feel appreciated – what? How shocking is that? On a scale of shocking, I’d give it a 1 out of 10.  Maybe that’s my own experience, but a mom feeling like she’s being taken advantage of is pretty normal.  In this lesson we’re going to look … [Read more...]

I recently came across a Bible verse that really struck a chord: “Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves.”  (Mat 10:16).  This verse is powerful because Jesus isn’t telling people to go out into the world as pushovers who get … [Read more...]

Between my wife and I, one of us regularly says, “I feel bad about (fill in the blank),” and the other person replies (or thinks because it happens so often), “Why do you feel bad? What’s the benefit?” Any guesses who’s who in this scenario? Women tend to have a gift for finding ways to feel guilt … [Read more...]

This week I’m spending some time with my family, so I thought I’d do something a little different in order to save time.  The following is a speech by Paul Harvey given on air in 1965.  It’s scary how wise he was to see where things were going.  Who was Paul Harvey? He became famous … [Read more...]