When We Believe Suffering’s Lies

Posted on 11/25/2011 by Brad Hambrick

Suffering is simply the difficulty in life that we experience which is not the result of our personal sin.  It is the fall out of living in a broken world with fallen people.

One problem (among many) with suffering is that it is such an intense experience. It is the epitome of “UNFAIR!”  While we are wrestling with what to say and do in the midst of what should not be, we miss the messages that we are learning. 

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Codependency, Chronic Pain, & Prescription Drug Abuse

Posted on 10/26/2011 by Brad Hambrick

I think that most counselors would agree with my assessment that one of the most difficult counseling cases is someone who experiences chronic pain and is abusing their prescription pain medicines. It is such a trap. The legitimate pain makes medical relief a necessity, yet the tendency to over medicate makes it personally destructive.

However, whenever the subject is addressed by a loved one or counselor the legitimacy of the pain makes for a quick and undeniable defense. “What, do you want me to live in pain?  Is that any life to live? How is that humane?” The concerned person is made to feel heartless. 

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What Would a Truth-Telling Machine Do?

Posted on 8/24/2011 by Brad Hambrick

Where would you attach such a device? To someone’s brain, tongue, heart? I am going to contend that you would attach it to someone’s eyes, because a truth-telling machine would have to alter what we see in order to change what we say.

In order to “see” (sorry, couldn’t help myself) where I am going with this, consider 2 Peter 1:9.

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Lightning McQueen, Doc Hudson, & Psalm 119:11

Posted on 7/27/2011 by Brad Hambrick

You can guess the age of my children by the title of this post.  You may remember the scene I’m about to paraphrase.  McQueen lost a race (and the chance to get out of town) to the old, run-down Doc Hudson because he kept sliding out of the turn on the small town dirt track.

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Using a Personal Journal for Spiritual Growth

Posted on 6/8/2011 by Brad Hambrick

Too often the use of a journal has been dismissed as feminine, “something you do when you need counseling,” or too time consuming.  But with a bit of reflection (which is all journaling is) we might come to a different conclusion.  Many of the great figures in church history has kept a journal, and the church has benefited greatly from this window into their daily life (not as a voyeur, 

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Teaching Healthy Family Communication

Posted on 5/12/2011 by Brad Hambrick

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.  And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.  You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way,

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Communication with Our Desires “On the Table”

Posted on 4/14/2011 by Brad Hambrick

Communication is hard, especially “in the moment.”  It is one thing to be convicted by a sermon on the power of the tongue or the way our words reveal our heart.  It is another thing to be “in the moment” with your spouse (child, sibling, parent, friend, co-worker, enemy, etc…) and to have the awareness, self-control, courage, and humility to acknowledge what is ruling your heart and change the direction of the “discussion”.  That is the purpose of this article, to help you “in the moment”.

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