Search Results for: blog is guilt a proper motivator

How To Deal With Guilt – Part 1

No doubt all of us have done things we’re ashamed of and wish we could erase or do over – things that make us feel guilty. That guilt can have far reaching effects on us, on our emotional and physical health and also on our relationships with others. So what can we do to deal with that guilt? And yes I know about guilt. I carried guilt around for a long time before I allowed God to help me deal with it. So what can we do to deal with guilt? The first step is to admit that what we … Continue reading →

Is Guilt a Proper Motivator?

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My brother-in-law asked my sister a good question recently. He said, “Johanna, how much do you do because of guilt?” You see, my sister is a very busy person. She is the leader of the Billings, Montana, chapter of Young Lives. She leads and is involved in several Bible studies and serves as a mentor to several high school girls. She is a mom to a beautiful little girl and an active participant in the small groups at her church. She is always busy and always doing for others. Her husband’s question got her thinking and, in turn, got me … Continue reading →

Be Aware of what is Motivating You in Every Interaction

Perhaps it is not always possible to tune in to what is motivating us in every interaction with our children, but I do think that if we can achieve some level of self-awareness: identifying our own emotions, knowing what our triggers are, figuring out what we are trying to make happen, etc. then we will be better able to communicate well and have genuine interactions with our children. Let’s break this down so that it makes sense: Say you walk in and find that your child has gotten into the kitchen cabinets while you were on a phone call to … Continue reading →

What I Learned from Pots and Pans

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A few days per month I do some cleaning for an elderly woman in my church. For the past few weeks she has been telling me that she had a “special” project for me to do. She mentioned that it had something to do with her pots and pans. I envisioned dirty, greasy cookware that needed serious scrubbing and did not look upon my upcoming task with a friendly eye. I arrived at her house, mentally bracing myself for the unpleasant job. She lined up all of her cookware that needed to be cleaned on her kitchen counter and began … Continue reading →

Why Do You Go to Work?

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Why do you go to work? The first answer that comes to your mind is probably, “Well, for the money.” Is that the only reason that you work? When I went to work full-time in the professional world, my primary motivation was money. However, I soon realized that receiving a pay check was not a meaningful enough reason for me. Is a lucrative career enough reason for devoting forty hours a week for 40-50 years to a place away from home and family? The answer for me was “No.” I soon committed to God that my job wouldn’t simply be … Continue reading →

What Do You Do on Sunday Afternoons?

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Sunday afternoons are one of my favorite times during the week. Do I go somewhere exciting? Do I enjoy my favorite hobbies or sports? Not really. Sunday afternoons are for rigorously structured laziness. Our family doesn’t make plans, we don’t take trips, we use them instead, for rest and relaxation. In a society that sees church attendance as less and less of a priority, Sundays have become simply another Saturday. People go to the malls, meet with friends, work on their houses, go to parties and stay out late. In our family, Sundays are a day in which we avoid … Continue reading →

Yes, I Believe in Demons

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Twenty of my fellow classmates and I sat attentively as our professor spoke. I was in a missions class listening to my teacher, who was a veteran missionary. For thirty years he had served in the country of Kenya in Africa. One day, while he was living in Kenya, several men from his village came to the door of his home. They told him that there was a woman in a neighboring village who was having some kind of breakdown. They asked if he would be able to go and look at the woman to see if there was anything … Continue reading →