Christian Counseling & Educational Services

Why is it that we cringe when we hear the phrase, “living by the law?� For many of us, it sounds legalistic and rigid, like we must give up all pleasure and live by some stiff rule. Yet when we look into the Psalms we see that rather than being confining, living by God’s standard brings freedom and joy. The writers of the Psalms used a variety of terms to refer to the law, God’s standard.

Sitting in the park I watched the mothers interact with their children. One particular mom with several children repeatedly drew my attention because it was obvious that she didn’t want to be bothered by them at that moment. Over and over again when they came to her, she pushed them away with words and actions. “Go play . . . Go find something to do . . . Go be with your brother.� Her tone reflected her annoyance when they interrupted her as she sat on the bench. With sadness the children went back to play. All moms need a break, and I’m sure it felt good for her to relax for a while, but I wondered what the constant pushing away must be doing to the children.

Friday evening, my son and his wife took us to see the Philadelphia Phillies play the St. Louis Cardinals in Philadelphia. It was a fun evening for all of us, but for each of those baseball players on the field, it represented countless hours of practice and a lot of hard work. They didn’t arrive at that level of skill, fame and fortune without a lot of self-discipline and self sacrifice. In the little book, A Hero In Every Heart, author H. Jackson Brown, Jr. writes “You can’t. . .

You’ve heard the saying, “Talking is sharing. Listening is caring,� haven’t you? I saw it on a sign in front of a church a couple of years ago, and it caught my eye. In the last few weeks, I’ve seen it again several times. I’m not sure who first said it, but it really is true.

Psalm 103:14
For He knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust.
Wow! Wednesday was one of those days! My list of plans never got completed, the weeds in the flower bed were growing at record speed, I discovered a stack of mail that needed attention immediately, and the printer jammed and […]

II Chronicles 7:14
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
The Fourth of July holiday provides us with a wonderful opportunity to pause […]