Life

Honestly, ever since I heard the news of Philando Castile yesterday, my heart has been trembling. Part of it is because it happened right on the heels of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge… and our city still hasn’t gotten over Jamar Clark, nor should it. And when you add snipers in Dallas – murdering innocent…

When life gets tough, we all have a tendency to condition our happiness upon things that, according to research, simply won’t change our happiness all that much. After writing an entire book hitting some of the statistical causes of happiness, I continue to find more “research gems” that blow my mind. According to the May/June…

If you’re feeling busy or weary, lets talk. In part 1 of this blogging series, we discussed the idea that: Success in one area of our lives won’t compensate for failure in another. The happiness of professional success will never make up for a lack of success in our marriage, friendships, parenting, etc. So, if…

Most people think that their busy pursuit of success is fine, until their lives melt down. I meet a lot of middle aged people who thought their marriage, kids, and physical bodies’ were fine (amidst the busyness of their careers) until all-of-a-sudden, they weren’t. CRASH. Your marriage falls apart; your kid does the unthinkable; or…

Have you ever asked God to help you win the lottery? Be honest. You got that one piece of junk mail saying: “You’re a winner!” And as you looked in the mirror with wide nostrils, you thought: “Doggonit. I AM a winner, aren’t I?” Of course, a day later you realized, you might be a…

If you’ve come to Substance in the last few years, you’ll know that we start out every new year with a season of fasting. Of course, nobody “has to” fast; but, when you understand what the Bible teaches on fasting, you’ll realize: we “get to” fast.  It’s actually an incredible opportunity. In both the Old…

My wife and I have always been obsessive planners. And after having made a million failed plans, I’ve discovered a few tricks that can give our goals a bit more traction! So before you make another frail and disappointing resolution, consider these 4 principles that can place your dreams in the fast lane: (1). Don’t…

I married Carolyn 20 years ago today. It almost doesn’t seem real. When I think about how blessed we are compared to most people, I almost feel a little sad. Our culture is robbed by the toxic idea that marriage can fill our God-shaped voids. To many, marriage has been reduced to a ‘right’…a tool…

Most Christians believe that reading the Bible is “good for them.” Yet so many people still struggle getting “into it.” And if you struggle, don’t sweat it! I just wrote a blog last week on how to “get addicted” to Bible reading. But did you know that you can increase your child or grandchild’s intelligence,…

If anyone knows my wife Carolyn, she ALWAYS has a fresh miracle story of how God provides for our family. In my books, I’ve shared miracle stories about how she trusted God for lawn-mowers and snowblowers – but, we’ve got dozens more: from Disney vacations, to our home & furniture, to our kid’s braces… she…