Learned Helplessness

Researchers once did a study in Florida in which they divided a large, fish tank in half by putting a glass wall in the middle.  A barracuda was put on one side of the tank and a mackerel on the other.  The hungry barracuda tried to get the mackerel but smacked into the glass barrier.  [...]

Clawing Your Way Out

Put a single crab in a bucket, and it’s likely to crawl out. Experienced crab fishermen know that if you put two or more crabs in the bucket, none of them will escape.
Why?  Because whenever one of the crabs tries to escape, the other crabs will instinctively reach up and pull it back down.
People can [...]

Three Chairs

David was a Renaissance Man before the Renaissance.  King, warrior, poet, musician, philosopher, politician, architect…  He seemed to excel at everything he put his hand to…except parenting.  Despite his close relationship to his Father in heaven, David was a miserable father to his own children here on earth.  The royal princes lived hedonistic lives that [...]

The Bird’s Nest

When a young bird’s feathers and wing muscles are developed enough for flight, the bird’s parents will often push it out of the nest. With some species of bird, this can be a spectacular free fall from a dizzying height. With others, it’s not the fall they have to worry about but the [...]

Sand in the Hand

Ever made a fist around a handful of sand? The tighter you squeeze, the more sand pours out the sides. Many things in life are like that. The more we try to control our teenagers, the more they rebel. The more we try to control our employees, the more passive-aggressive they become. The more we [...]

Spiritual Oxygen

I’m at a spiritual retreat in Shangri-La, China, this week. It’s at 10,000 feet in mountains in the south part of China, and the air here is pretty thin. Some of the members of my group have really been struggling with altitude sickness, which causes headaches and nausea.
This morning, I woke up with a pretty [...]

Some Time Later, the Brook Dried Up

I’m feeling very sad today. It’s evening, and I’ve just finished teaching my last workshop as an independent consultant. I’ve taken a job working with a ministry in another country, and the unfamiliarity of my new surroundings is making this transition even more difficult for me.
To make it worse, in a about an [...]

You’ve Got What You Need

Back to the story of Nehemiah from the Bible.  It’s interesting that Nehemiah built a wall without a quarry.  Where did he get all that rock?  By some estimates, the wall was over 1.5 miles long, 20 feet tall and 9 feet thick*.   That’s a huge amount of rock!  Walls using this much material would [...]