Life on Planet Earth on Therapy

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Isaiah 40:31, John 16:33, 1 Peter 5:10, Hebrews 12:11, 1 Peter 1:6-7

In the last resort it is highly improbable that there could ever be a therapy which gets rid of all difficulties. Man needs difficulties; they are necessary for health.

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(Weird) Al Yankovic

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I don't really look at myself as the kind of person who craves attention, but I've never been to therapy so there's probably a lot of stuff about myself that I don't know.

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Chuck Swindoll

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Laughter is the most beautiful and beneficial therapy God ever granted humanity.

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Our Lord—Today we have given You praise

Our Lord—Today we have given You praise and thanks for who You are and what You’ve done for us. Now, we also give You our needs—for we are not self-sufficient. We need You! We pray for those dear to u...

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Father God–You are a God of grace and

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

Ephesians 4:2-3, Micah 6:8, John 16:33, Psalm 147:3, Romans 15:13, Jeremiah 17:14

Father God–You are a God of grace and abundance, who blesses us with more than a shower of blessings but a downpour of mercies. We rejoice with friends in new marriages, and in the strength of lasting...

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Compassion for a Bully

Author

Chuck DeGroat

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Matthew 5:7, Philippians 2:1-2, James 3:17, Proverbs 17:9, Luke 6:36, 1 Peter 3:8

I love the following story because it illustrates both our natural defensiveness when we are attacked and the potential for transformation. As the illustration demonstrates, this is only possible when...

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Lori Gottlieb

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Often, though, people carry around the belief that the majority of their problems are circumstantial or situational—which is to say, external. And if the problems are caused by everyone and everything...

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Any Worse Company

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Brennan Manning

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The story is often told of a man who made an appointment with the famous psychologist Carl Jung to get help for chronic depression. Jung told him to reduce his fourteen-hour workday to eight, go direc...

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Taking Confession on an Airplane

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Annemarie S. Kidder

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Locked into captivity by an airplane seat, a kindly disposition of keeping a friend company, or a telephone connection, we become ex officio confessors to those with troubled consciences and traces, o...

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Father–nothing escapes your notice, is

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

Philippians 4:19, Revelation 21:4, Romans 8:26, Acts 1:8, Psalm 46:1, Matthew 5:9

Father–nothing escapes your notice, is beyond your care or too hard for you to take on, whether it concerns nations or individuals. You have a heart for all the world–not just our little piece of it. ...

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Uncovering & Recovering

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Sheila Wise Rowe

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Proverbs 3:5-6, Ephesians 4:22-24, Romans 12:2, Psalm 139:14, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Jeremiah 29:11

Famed Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe wrote in ‘The Art of Fiction No. 139’ for The Paris Review, ‘If you don’t like someone’s story, write your own.’ I believe this is a call to uncover and recover f...

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Replacing Morality with Psychology

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Phillip Cary

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Christian morality has fallen on hard times these days. No one seems to believe in it, least of all Christians. Even the word “morality” is dropping out of our vocabulary—and I do mean the vocabulary ...

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Physical Therapy and Spiritual Practice

Author

Cody Sandahl

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Scripture

Ephesians 4:22-24, Colossians 3:9-10, Romans 8:13, 1 Timothy 4:7, Hebrews 12:11, 1 Corinthians 9:27

My transition into my 40’s came with the obligatory hip surgery. The only way to stop the cycle of hip pain was to literally carve out some bone. Those parts had to be removed. But recovering my funct...

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Retail Therapy

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Ashley Hales

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Retail therapy gives us the thrill of the hunt and a hit of dopamine (the love hormone) as we anticipate a purchase, but it cannot feed our hungers. We know this. But we return each time, hoping it wi...

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Author

Craig Groeschel

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In recent years, an entire discipline of modern psychology has developed called cognitive behavioral therapy. This breakthrough teaching reveals that many problems, from eating disorders to relational...

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A Danger in Venting Your Anger

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The Pastor's Workshop

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Scripture

Galatians 5:22-23, Colossians 3:8, Proverbs 16:32, Ephesians 7:9, Proverbs 15:1

We often speak of unexpressed anger with metaphors of explosive pressure. We are like “a ticking time bomb” or “a volcano.” We are “bottling it up.” And sometimes letting it out feels good—cathartic. ...

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Bullied By Christian Leaders

Author

Bill Gaultiere

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Scripture

Matthew 27:27-31, Luke 23:34-35, Luke 6:27-28

Have you ever been bullied by a group? Or felt ganged up on? Maybe it wasn’t intended by them, but you felt abused? I have. So have some of the pastors and influencers we help. So has Jesus… Lord J...

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Author

Sinclair B. Ferguson

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No short-cut that tries to bypass the patient unfolding of the true character of God, and our relationship to him as his children, can ever succeed in providing long-term spiritual therapy.

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Losing Control In a Waffle House Hat

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Ryan P. Tinetti

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In his book Scream-Free Parenting , family therapist Hal Runkel recounts a visit to the Waffle House with his family that went horribly awry. It was a Saturday morning and the place was busy beyo...

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The Art of Remembering

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

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Scripture

James 1:17, Ephesians 4:null

The Necessity of Memory Memory—or, more actively, remembering , plays an all-important role in our lives. Our culture likes us to focus on the now, "looking forward rather than looking back&q...

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Lord—we’re so anxious we can’t

Author

Richard Herman

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Scripture

Isaiah 40:31, Psalm 27:14, Romans 12:2, Matthew 1:23, John 11:25-26, Hebrews 13:3

Lord—we’re so anxious we can’t wait! Some of us can’t wait for Christmas to come, while (honestly) some others of us can’t wait for it to be over. We’re not proud of it—but that’s just the way it is ...

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Pastors & Therapists: Human Like Every One Else

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Lori Gottlieb

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Perhaps you’ve never thought of this before, but there are a lot of commonalities between therapists and pastors. Both therapists and pastors are given an inside view into the joys and mess that make ...

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Maria Bamford

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“My therapist says I’m afraid of success. I guess I could understand that, because after all, fulfilling my potential would really cut into my sitting-around time.”

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Author

Jack Adams

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If it’s free, it’s advice; if you pay for it, it’s counseling; if you can use either one, it’s a miracle.

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True Healing Occurs When…

Author

Henri J. M. Nouwen

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Scripture

Matthew 11:30, Matthew 11:28-30, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, Romans 8:18, Hebrews 12:1-2, James 1:2-4

Paradoxically…healing means moving from your pain to the pain…When you keep focusing on the specific circumstances of your pain, you easily become angry, resentful, and even vindictive. You are inclin...

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Pushed to the Brink of Destruction

Author

James A. Knight

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Scripture

Hebrews 12:12-13, Psalm 147:3, Romans 8:28, Isaiah 61:1, 1 Peter 5:10

Psychiatrist James Knight describes in graphic detail the experience that members of Alcoholics Anonymous experience: These persons have had their lives laid bare and pushed to the brink of destructi...

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Mental Health Today

Author

Alan Noble

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Scripture

1 Kings 19:1-18, Job 3:6-7, Lamentations 3:17-26, Matthew 26:36-46, 2 Corinthians 1:3-11, Psalm 42:5-11

We don’t know what we are doing, and I think this is especially true about the way our society deals with mental health. In just the past fifteen years, I have witnessed a massive shift in how evangel...

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I Know the Way Out

Author

James K. A. Smith

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Scripture

2 Corinthians 1:3-4, John 15:13, 1 Thessalonians 5:11, Job 2:11, Proverbs 17:17

I can’t help but recall here a scene from The West Wing. White House chief of staff Leo McGarry reaches out to his deputy, Josh Lyman, who is struggling with PTSD. Leo tells him a parable: This guy’...

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J. C. Ryle

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Trials are intended to make us think, to wean us from the world, to send us to the Bible, to drive us to our knees.

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Author

Gillian Marchenko

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Depression

My friend Anne once said that being around people when you are depressed is like being asked to heal your broken leg by running a marathon.

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