Last week, I received a cry for help from someone whom I’ll call Mark, who is studying Uprooting Anger. Mark said, “My anger rises to the surface too quickly. … The anger is there immediately.” Mark said he’d confessed his sin of anger and bitterness and sought God’s help for years, “to no avail.” He…

This week, I received a cry for help from someone, whom I’ll call Mark, who is on lesson 7 of Uprooting Anger. Mark said, “My anger rises to the surface too quickly. I do not choose to be angry anymore. The anger is there immediately.” To the suggestion to confess his sin to God and…

Parenting is one of the most difficult jobs in the world. Mentoring too. Both require sacrificial pouring of your life into another person. Both require wisdom beyond your training. And both require taking your hands off, and letting go. It is the latter that I’d like to speak to, the difficulty of taking your hands…

Conflict and strife with someone you love follows you around and weighs you down, even while you’re busy with something else. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Strife develops when the second person responds to conflict in a argumentative manner. For many of us, it’s automatic to do so, as we try to…

I just returned from celebrating a wedding. I was struck with how much planning, time, and effort it takes to make everything perfect for a wedding reception. Such celebrations don’t go off smoothly without a lot of work and attention to detail. And it seems that something always comes up to challenge the peace. Our…

A recent conversation reminded me of a season when life seemed filled with struggles. My relationship with my daughter was a constant challenge. She was a teen, cute as a button, had a lot going for her, and was a joy to others. But we couldn’t relate. We had regular bouts of tension, and constant…

“I know God will heal me,” she said. “By His stripes I’ve been healed, so I don’t need to see a doctor.” She went on to describe how God had healed her before and she was confident that he would do it again. I didn’t say so, but I don’t think she will be healed.…

Craig shared with me about an Uprooting Anger class he is teaching in a maximum security prison in Florida. After the second class, one of the men told him that he isn’t sure he believes there is a God. Craig assured him that it was ok for him to attend the class if he didn’t…

I had a phone call from a friend on Sunday. As we talked, she mentioned the death of her husband, saying, “But I think he was mad at me when he died.” His death was close to ten years ago, but their unsettled relationship still haunts her. Within twenty-four hours of our conversation, a killer…

It unsettles me when any relationship is out of kilter. Whether with a family member, a co-worker, boss, or friend, I like for relationships to be on friendly terms, and I do what I can to right them when they’re tense. In a close relationship, I am really impacted—torn apart is probably more accurate—if there’s…