Presented by Lisa Bishop We are examining the 5 attitudes for everyday life, and today, let’s talk about the attitude of curiosity. Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you thought you were right about something or someone only to get more information and find out you were dead wrong? I know I have too many times to count. Our brains have a tendency to jump to conclusions rather than asking clarifying questions, and that can cause us to make assumptions. And when we do, it can damage our relationships. If we are not careful our rash reaction can impact our witness as followers of ..read more

Presented by Lisa Bishop I’m examining the 5 attitudes for everyday life, and today I want to invite you to reflect on this question, “Are you an encourager?” Think about it. The dictionary defines encouragement as words or behavior that give someone the confidence to do something. In other words, when we encourage someone, we give courage to them. I was flying home from a work trip the other day when a text came through right before takeoff. It was from a woman I had not seen or talked to in two years and out of the blue her words of encouragement came through. They brought tears to my eyes a ..read more

Presented by Lisa Bishop We’re examining the 5 attitudes for everyday life, and today, let’s look at our approachability. How approachable are you? Do people find it easy to interact with you, or are you prickly, perhaps a bit dismissive, distracted, or disengaged? Sometimes we can unintentionally put off an attitude that deters people from wanting to interact with us. Not too long ago, I worked with someone who frequently put off a grumpy vibe. Needless to say, it wasn’t super pleasant to work with him when his attitude was like a big dark rain cloud. As I prepared myself to go to work, I won ..read more

Presented by Lisa Bishop Are you teachable? We will examine the 5 attitudes for everyday life, and today, let’s look at our teachability. When it comes to having a posture of learning, Proverbs 1:5-7 reminds us of this, Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance, to understand a proverb and a saying, the words of the wise and their riddles. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction (Proverbs 1:5-7). These words teach us as followers of Jesus, God’s Word is filled with wisdom and instruction and should a ..read more

Presented by Lauren Stibgen I think most of us have had moments of self-doubt. That moment when you deeply question a decision or words you used in a meeting or in discussion with a friend. Maybe you are left feeling like an imposter. Imposter syndrome is a term that first emerged in the 1970s. Although I noted that both men and women can experience feelings associated with imposter syndrome, the research was rooted in a study of how family patterns contribute to these feelings in women. The researchers, Clance and Imes, found these patterns were born of sibling comparison, and on the opposite ..read more

What do you do with the hurt? It truly is important to be intentional about getting past the hurts of our lives, because when we harbor them, they become destructive forces in our lives, they rob us of joy, and they allow bitterness to take root in our hearts. Let me close with one of my favorite passages from Isaiah 58:6-9. Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the nake ..read more

I am examining what you can do when you’ve been hurt—how to deal with the pain that remains. Yesterday I pointed out the hurt we feel resides in our minds, in our thought patterns. Therefore, to be free from hurt, you must change your thoughts. The Bible says we must bring our thoughts into captivity and make them obedient to Christ, and that’s exactly what you have to do with the hurt—you drive it from your thoughts by replacing it with good thoughts, positive thoughts, thoughts filled with the love God has for you. Then you need to confess whatever responsibility you may have in the hurt. Wh ..read more

Have you been hurt lately? Most of us can recall some fairly recent hurt feelings, can’t we? So, what do we do with the hurt? That’s what I’ve been talking about this week. All-too-often we wallow in the hurt, remembering and retelling it, and that just allows the hurt to grow. A friend of mine wrote this in an article on hurt feelings: “When you’re hurt, do you listen well to the Holy Spirit? Or are you so busy talking about your hurt he doesn’t have a chance to get a word in edgewise. Without a supernatural, God-response to hurt, we often wallow in self-pity and embroider around the injustic ..read more

What do you do with the hurt? I don’t have to tell you life is full of hurt. But it’s what you do with the hurt that will determine if it overcomes you or you have victory over the hurt. Years ago, God began to reveal to me how hooked I was on pity parties. That was my way of dealing with hurt—I just indulged in lots of self-pity. And what came as a major revelation to me was realizing God sees it as a sin. Whether or not I have a legitimate complaint, wallowing in self-pity, nurturing my hurt feelings was not what a mature Christian should do. I wanted to grow up in Christ, to become more lik ..read more

My topic this week is: what do you do with the hurt? None of us escape some kind of emotional pain—some hurt—and whether it’s a slight offense or some deep, ingrained trauma you’ve experienced, you have to decide what you’re going to do with that hurt. That’s the most important issue because it determines whether you’re going to let it harm you endlessly or you’re going to put it behind you somehow and move on. What is the most common way people deal with hurt? Don’t you think the most common way is to harbor it, to blame others, to relive it time and again. It can become so all-consuming your ..read more