Why Counseling: Understanding the Story You're In
“I wonder what sort of a tale we've fallen into?” Our lives are shaped not just by the things that happen to us, but also what we believe about those things. Each event in our lives and the beliefs we hold about them form themselves into an overarching story that we use to interpret the world around us and our place in it. It's imperative that the story we believe is the true story, as I've written elsewhere. I think this is one of the most important benefits of counseling –
Why Counseling: Three Basic Assumptions
“So... why do people come to you for counseling?” This question came up as I was talking with a friend the other day. He wasn't simply asking about what kinds of issues I deal with most often, but really asking... why? Why do people come to counseling to deal with those issues? What is the benefit of counseling? What's the purpose? I had to think for a moment before responding. Just explaining the rationale for my life's calling, no big deal. I hope what came out made sense i
Used by God
Why did Jesus die for you? What was His motivation? What was His goal? These are important questions to ponder and now, in the wake of Easter, seems an appropriate time. I've talked about how God uses the themes of Creation, Fall and Redemption in our lives to reflect His big story and show us His character as a redeeming God. Was this God's main goal or His only motivation in saving us, to work us into this divine strategy? Right now our church staff is reading a book on sel
The Paradox of Good Friday
It's ironic that we call it Good Friday, isn't it? From the perspective of those who were there it certainly wouldn't have fit. For the disciples it would have been Terrible Friday. This was the man on Whom all their hopes hung, and now He was hanging on a cross before them. They had bet everything on the idea that Jesus was who He said He was – that He was the Messiah – and the last thing they expected the Messiah to do was die a shameful death on a cross. In one sense this
{"items":["5fda394fe440cc0018741797","5fda394fe440cc0018741795","5fda394fe440cc0018741793","5fda394fe440cc0018741792"],"styles":{"galleryType":"Columns","groupSize":1,"showArrows":true,"cubeImages":true,"cubeType":"max","cubeRatio":1.7777777777777777,"isVertical":true,"gallerySize":30,"collageAmount":0,"collageDensity":0,"groupTypes":"1","oneRow":false,"imageMargin":32,"galleryMargin":0,"scatter":0,"rotatingScatter":"","chooseBestGroup":true,"smartCrop":false,"hasThumbnails":false,"enableScroll":true,"isGrid":true,"isSlider":false,"isColumns":false,"isSlideshow":false,"cropOnlyFill":false,"fixedColumns":0,"enableInfiniteScroll":true,"isRTL":false,"minItemSize":50,"rotatingGroupTypes":"","rotatingCropRatios":"","columnWidths":"","gallerySliderImageRatio":1.7777777777777777,"numberOfImagesPerRow":3,"numberOfImagesPerCol":1,"groupsPerStrip":0,"borderRadius":0,"boxShadow":0,"gridStyle":0,"mobilePanorama":false,"placeGroupsLtr":true,"viewMode":"preview","thumbnailSpacings":4,"galleryThumbnailsAlignment":"bottom","isMasonry":false,"isAutoSlideshow":false,"slideshowLoop":false,"autoSlideshowInterval":4,"bottomInfoHeight":0,"titlePlacement":"SHOW_BELOW","galleryTextAlign":"center","scrollSnap":false,"itemClick":"nothing","fullscreen":true,"videoPlay":"hover","scrollAnimation":"NO_EFFECT","slideAnimation":"SCROLL","scrollDirection":0,"scrollDuration":400,"overlayAnimation":"FADE_IN","arrowsPosition":0,"arrowsSize":23,"watermarkOpacity":40,"watermarkSize":40,"useWatermark":true,"watermarkDock":{"top":"auto","left":"auto","right":0,"bottom":0,"transform":"translate3d(0,0,0)"},"loadMoreAmount":"all","defaultShowInfoExpand":1,"allowLinkExpand":true,"expandInfoPosition":0,"allowFullscreenExpand":true,"fullscreenLoop":false,"galleryAlignExpand":"left","addToCartBorderWidth":1,"addToCartButtonText":"","slideshowInfoSize":200,"playButtonForAutoSlideShow":false,"allowSlideshowCounter":false,"hoveringBehaviour":"NEVER_SHOW","thumbnailSize":120,"magicLayoutSeed":1,"imageHoverAnimation":"NO_EFFECT","imagePlacementAnimation":"NO_EFFECT","calculateTextBoxWidthMode":"PERCENT","textBoxHeight":193,"textBoxWidth":200,"textBoxWidthPercent":50,"textImageSpace":10,"textBoxBorderRadius":0,"textBoxBorderWidth":0,"loadMoreButtonText":"","loadMoreButtonBorderWidth":1,"loadMoreButtonBorderRadius":0,"imageInfoType":"ATTACHED_BACKGROUND","itemBorderWidth":2,"itemBorderRadius":0,"itemEnableShadow":false,"itemShadowBlur":20,"itemShadowDirection":135,"itemShadowSize":10,"imageLoadingMode":"BLUR","expandAnimation":"NO_EFFECT","imageQuality":90,"usmToggle":false,"usm_a":0,"usm_r":0,"usm_t":0,"videoSound":false,"videoSpeed":"1","videoLoop":true,"jsonStyleParams":"","gallerySizeType":"px","gallerySizePx":1000,"allowTitle":true,"allowContextMenu":true,"textsHorizontalPadding":-30,"itemBorderColor":{"themeName":"color_13","value":"rgba(211,211,211,1)"},"showVideoPlayButton":true,"galleryLayout":2,"calculateTextBoxHeightMode":"MANUAL","textsVerticalPadding":-15,"targetItemSize":1000,"selectedLayout":"2|bottom|1|max|true|0|true","layoutsVersion":2,"selectedLayoutV2":2,"isSlideshowFont":true,"externalInfoHeight":193,"externalInfoWidth":0},"container":{"width":670,"galleryWidth":702,"galleryHeight":0,"scrollBase":0,"height":null}}
