Things in our life get complicated often before we know it. Most of us don't willfully choose it; we silently slide into what can be called the *Cycle of Complication:* we deflect, we overcompensate for a life we can't control (i.e., *over-do, over-apologize, over-book, over-think, over-analyze, ...

**Being real.** It's something so simple, and yet, so very important. There are two choices most crucial to being real: choosing *real over pretty* and *honesty over hiding.* Choosing to hide parts of ourselves by not being real is actually the choice to manage and control our lives instead of tr...

Sometimes we think drawing people in has something to do with the gifts we give, or the way we keep a pretty home, or the smart things we have to say. But the truth is that people are drawn in when they feel safe. Making someone feel safe is how they feel loved. Love calms fear, draws in the skep...

Hype, the never-ending vacuum of worldly knowledge, complicates our lives. The hype, the impulsivity of our culture, constantly wants to push us toward flashy, easy, bigger, and more. And Christians are among the worst at buying into the hype. We try to outdo or one-up each other, or to make a sp...

Poor choices. We've all made them; some, more than others. "God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness" (1 Thessalonians 4:7). Our pursuit of God is a commitment to holiness. When we pursue life God's way, his way works. But, choosing holiness requires us to give up our personal freedom,...

In the Book of Joshua, we see that *arriving* in the promised land wasn't enough; they actually had to take *possession* of the land and claim it as their own. *Jesus over everything* is the foundation on which to build the rest of our lives. Jesus has the better "land" for us, but before we can ...