I almost killed my younger brother when I was 12. He was being mean to our sister, and when I stepped in, he said something—I don’t remember what. But I lost it. I put my hands around his throat and squeezed as hard as… Continue Reading “Choosing to Give Up on Revenge”
As a kid, there were certain old people I avoided. They were the kind that didn’t seem to have the capacity to endure the messiness and clumsiness of children. They couldn’t see the intentions of little ones when something got spilt or broken. They… Continue Reading “Choosing to Resist the Bitter Pill”
I was deliberately maligned. A ministry co-worker, years ago, told my supervisor that I had screamed at her when she had confronted me. When this was brought to my attention, I knew right away that she was covering for her own bad behavior in… Continue Reading “Choosing the Path of the Unoffended”
As a kid, there were certain old people I avoided. They were the kind that didn’t seem to have the capacity to endure the messiness and clumsiness of children. They couldn’t see the intentions of little ones when something got spilt or broken. They… Continue Reading “Choosing Sweetness”
My stomach muscles tightened as I sat in the YWAM class and admitted to myself that I hated those kids. Before we joined Youth With A Mission (YWAM), I had taught English to middle schoolers at a California inner-city school. My first three years… Continue Reading “Choosing to Forgive When I Don’t Feel Like It”
I almost killed my younger brother when I was 12. He was being mean to our sister, and when I stepped in, he said something—I don’t remember what. But I lost it. I put my hands around his throat and squeezed as hard as… Continue Reading “Choosing to Turn from Anger”
As a child learning Bible stories, I was intrigued by the Old Testament tale of Jonah the prophet. The idea of spending three days in the belly of a live fish never failed to stir my curiosity and horror. How did he eat, breathe… Continue Reading “Choosing to Manage My Hatred”
I almost killed my younger brother when I was 12. He was being mean to our sister, and when I stepped in, he said something—I don’t even remember what it was. But I lost it. I put my hands around his throat and squeezed… Continue Reading “Choosing to Turn from Anger”