Posted on September 9, 2024
by Jeff Herringshaw
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After my face was smashed into the sweaty mat several times by a brute bigger than me I changed my mind. That was enough, and I gave up the thought of becoming a wrestler. The high school coach had said he could make me… Continue Reading “Choosing to Not Give Up”
Category: Daily ChoicesTags: Child of God, Confused, Confusion, Difficult, Disappointed with God, Disappointment, Discouraged, Don't Give Up, Endurance, Faith, God's child, Hurt, I'm Confused, I'm Done, Identity, Is God Good?, It's over, Life, Never give up, Pain, Painful, Perseverence, Press On, Push in, Struggle, Struggling with God, Suffering, Tired, Trust, Trust God, Where is God?, Wrestling, Wrestling with God
I recently had someone describe her problems to me as rooted in co-dependency. She could see that her choices had become so enmeshed with another person’s responses that she no longer knew what was hers and what was the other person’s. The solution she… Continue Reading “Choosing to Limit Myself”
Category: Daily ChoicesTags: 10 Commandments, Boundaries, Boundary, Boundary Problem, Care, Channel, Co-dependency, Command, Commandment, Direct, Directions, Fence, Fences, freedom, Guide, Healthy Boundaries, Help, Identity, Intimacy with God, Intimacy with Jesus, Just say No, Laws, Life, Limts, love, Restrictions, Rules, Safety, Say no, Thrive, Thriving, True Freedom, Walls
No matter how hard I try, why are some things so difficult to resist? Overeating? Harsh responses to those who correct me? Anxiety about the future? I know how I should respond, what I’m supposed to do, and what I ought to feel. But… Continue Reading “Choosing a Resilient Identity”
Category: Daily ChoicesTags: Child of God, daughter of God, Evil Temptations, I am a child of God, Identity, Identity Confusion, Identity in Christ, Identity Tag, Jesus, Knowing who I am, Life Purpose, My Life Purpose, My Purpose, Resilience, Resilient, Resisting Anxiety, Resisting Bitterness, Resisting Lust, Resisting Temptation, Satan, Self beliefs, son of God, Temptation, Tempted, The Tempter, Thomas á Kempis, Who am I?
It’s a condition that I have had for many years now. I am prone to develop infections in my colon that can be extremely painful. It has put me in the hospital in the past, and I have come to recognize the feeling in… Continue Reading “Choosing Real Comfort”
Category: Daily ChoicesTags: Comfort, Confusion, Desensitized, Discomfort, Emotional Pain, Feel better, Feelings, God's Comfort, guilt, Identity, Internal Wholeness, Internet porn, Medicate, Medication, Misunderstood, Negativity, Numb, Numbing the pain, Pain, Porn, Pornography, Psychic Pain, Real Comfort, Sadness, Self Reliance, Self-medicate, Self-Medication, Sickness, sin, Soul Medication, Symptoms, Unforgiveness, Wholeness
Who wouldn’t want to be Bilbo the Hobbit upon finding a magic ring? Oh, the mischievous things that could be done! In addition, there would be the unique comfort that comes with the ability to turn invisible, hiding from the prying eyes of goblins,… Continue Reading “Choosing More than Appearances”
Category: Daily ChoicesTags: Addicted, Addictions, Anonymity, Anonymous, Appearance, Appearances, Approval, Bilbo Baggins, Camouflage, Cloak of Righteousness, Cloaked, Conceal, Concealed, Cover, Cover up, Covered, Crucifixion, Cruel, Cruel intentions, Cruelty, Deceit, Deceitful, Deceitful Heart, Don't look, Fear of Man, Good works, Goodness, guilt, Guilty, Gyges, Harry Potter, Hidden, Hide myself, Hiding, Identity, Identity in Christ, Invisibility, Invisibility Cloak, Invisibility ring, Invisible, Magic Ring, Mask, Masks, Motivations, Myth of Gyges, naked, Nakedness, Narcessist, Narcissism, Narcissistic, Others Approval, Pretend, Right Appearance, Righteous, Righteousness, Righteousness of Christ, Ring of Invisibility, See, Seeing, shame, Shameful, sin, Temptation, The Cross, The Right Look, Vulnerability, Vulnerable
It was my high school Spanish teacher who challenged an old axiom I had heard all my life. “Practice makes perfect.” This little phrase had been a mantra that I had assumed must be in the Bible somewhere because I heard it so much.… Continue Reading “Choosing What I Practice”
Category: Daily ChoicesTags: Bad Habits, Discipline, Good Habits, Habits, Hypocrites, Identity, New Habits, Practical, Practice, Practice Makes Perfect, Practice what you preach, Praxis, Real Change, Repentance, Self Discipline, Temptation, Training
I recently had someone describe her life problems to me as rooted in co-dependency. She could see that her choices had become so enmeshed with another person’s responses that she no longer knew what was hers and what was the other person’s. The solution… Continue Reading “Choosing Boundaries”
Category: Daily ChoicesTags: 10 Commandments, Boundaries, Boundary, Co-dependency, Codependence, Constraints, Distinctions, Enmeshed Relationships, Fences, God's Laws, Identity, Instructions, Laws, Laws that Protect, Limits, Love Laws, Loving God, Manipulation, Obedience, Obey, Protection, Restrictions, Rules, Submission, Submit, Ten Commandments
During my senior year in high school, my football coach referred to me as a “great athlete.” I was shocked but ecstatic that he would say such a thing. That was NOT how I saw myself. I had had minimal interest in athletics most… Continue Reading “Choosing My Identity”
Category: Daily ChoicesTags: Accomplishments, Child of God, Creating myself, daughter of God, Deciding who I am, Defining myself, Eternal Life, Family of God, Father God, financial identity, Gender identity, God is my Father, Identity, Identity in Christ, Identity through Performance, intellectual identity, Me, My uniqueness, Performance, Performing, Sexual identiy, Shaping my identity, son of God, spiritual identity, Surrendering my identity, vocational identity, Who am I?
Posted on December 12, 2022
by Jeff Herringshaw
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I was in the third grade when I painfully discovered something about myself. A teacher was giving a math lesson on the multiplication table using a chart with colored geometric shapes. She asked for a volunteer to provide the answer to 3X3, referring to… Continue Reading “Choosing to Call Out Courage in Another”
Category: Daily ChoicesTags: Affirm, Affirmation, Compassion, Correct, Correcting Others, Courage, Destiny, Do the right thing, Encourage, Encouragement, Encouraging, Gideon, Give, Give Strength, Give Support, Help, Help Out, Hero, Identity, love, Mighty Hero, No Condemnation, Strength, Strengthen, Strengthen another, Support, Telling the Truth, True Identity, Truth, Truth Teller
Posted on November 7, 2022
by Jeff Herringshaw
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As far back as I can remember, I have largely interpreted life, my value, and my impressions of those around me through the words I hear. What I have taken in through my ears has lodged deep into my soul. Countless words have cut… Continue Reading “Choosing the Right Words”
Category: Daily ChoicesTags: Accusations, Accusing, Arrogant, Believing the best, Calling, Complaining, Cutting Words, Deadly, Death and Life, Destiny, Destruction, Destructive, Encourage, Encouragement, Encouraging, Gossip, grateful, Grumbling, Hate, Hate Speech, Hope, Humble words, Hurtful, Identity, Intention of the Heart, Kind, Kind Words, Kindness, Life-giving, love, Mean, Mean Spirited, Motives, Pride, Proudful, Sarcasm, Sarcastic, Speech, Thankful, The Heart, The Lips, The Mouth, The Tongue, Words, Wounding Words
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