When you get caught up in a life of following Jesus, the old categories of "good guys" and "bad guys" stop working for you. You realize that not only does everybody have a story, but also that God wants us to love them too: *no matter what.* Yes, this can be kind of scary, but that's why we learn...

Shame occurs when, because you've been hurt by others in the past, you armor-up, vowing, "That's never going to happen to me again!" As a result, shame produces fear, suspicion, and isolation. When it comes to loving the people in your orbit that you might find a "little creepy," instead of judgi...

One of the things that gets in the way of us connecting with God is our self-sufficiency. Even if we follow all the rules, we can still miss God if we're doing it all by our own strength. We are most open to God when we are needy, busted, and broken. God can't lavish his grace on us if we don't t...

Whatever you fill your bucket with, that's what you'll become. Fill it with arguments, and you'll become a lawyer. Fill it with love, and you'll become love. You can fill your bucket with all sorts of stuff that will help you love others, or you can fill it with all sorts of negative stuff that w...

There's a difference between *learning* about how to do something and actually *taking a step* to do it. Plan how you are going to love everybody, always. This includes your friends, family, and acquaintances, but it also includes the difficult people you don't normally get along with, who might ...