1st Principle Group
Below is a chart with a list of promises that are true of you from the moment you believe the Gospel. You are… Reference fully forgiven Ephesians 1:7, Hebrews 9:14, Colossians 1:14, 1 John 1:9, 1 John 2:12 significant, having been adopted into God’s family according to His will from the beginning of time Ephesians…
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Why We Sin and Why We Need to Stop From the moment we believed the Gospel, we were given a regenerated heart. That heart loves God, desires to please Him, longs to be with Him, and is willing to sacrifice for Him. However, the regenerate heart is “encased” in sinful flesh. The flesh hates God,…
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Teaching children to glorify God is one of the greatest callings of Christian parenting, and is rooted in Scripture’s clear command to raise children in the “discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). Teach Your Children About God It may seem obvious, but a great way to teach kids about glorifying God is to…
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As Christians, we understand that our role as parents is a sacred calling from God. Part of this calling involves discerning how to engage with our children in a way that reflects Christ’s love and wisdom. One often overlooked aspect of this engagement is matching our energy level to our child’s needs and the situation…
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Disclaimer: If you or someone you love is in imminent danger, call 911 immediately. The following is general advice and is not a substitute for professional help or medical advice. As followers of Christ, we believe that every life is precious and created with purpose. If you or someone you love is battling suicidal thoughts,…
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Disclaimer: If you or someone you love is in imminent danger, call 911 immediately. The following is general advice and is not a substitute for professional help or medical advice. In our last blog post, we looked at what to do if you are in imminent danger of self-harm, and some steps you can take…
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Disclaimer: If you or someone you love is in imminent danger, call 911 immediately. The following is general advice and is not a substitute for professional help or medical advice. In the first blog post of this two-part series, we are going to go over what to do if you are suicidal. If you’re experiencing…
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Disclaimer: If you or someone you love is in imminent danger, call 911 immediately. The following is general advice and is not a substitute for professional help or medical advice. In our last blog post, we continued our series on helping people we love who are struggling with suicidal thoughts, and specifically how to talk…
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Disclaimer: If you or someone you love is in imminent danger, call 911 immediately. The following is general advice, not a substitute for professional help or medical advice. In our last post, we looked at how to get immediate help for a loved one who is struggling with suicidal thoughts. In this blog post, we…
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Disclaimer: If you or someone you love is in imminent danger, call 911 immediately. The following is general advice and is not a substitute for professional help or medical advice. In the first blog post of our three-part series, we are going to look at immediate actions you can take if someone you love is…
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Disclaimer: If you or someone you love is in imminent danger, call 911 immediately. The following is general advice and is not a substitute for professional help or medical advice. The prevalence of suicide in today’s culture can be attributed to several interconnected factors that reflect our fallen world and humanity’s separation from God. In…
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Disclaimer: If you or someone you love is in imminent danger, call 911 immediately. The following is general advice, not a substitute for professional help or medical advice. Suicide is another form of murder that hurts the One who loves us deeply. 36% more people committed suicide in 2022 compared to 2000. I have worked…
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Disclaimer: If you or someone you love is in imminent danger of committing suicide, call 911 immediately. The following are general principles and are not a substitute for professional help or medical advice. According to the CDC, 13.2 million adults thought seriously about committing suicide in 2022. In our blog Why is Suicide So Prevalent…
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Our perceptions are often clouded by sin and human limitations, which extends to our children. When we find ourselves viewing our children primarily in a negative light, it’s crucial to recognize this as an opportunity for personal growth and spiritual renewal. First, we must humbly acknowledge that our negative perceptions often stem from our own…
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When faced with a child struggling with behavioral issues, it’s crucial to remember that these challenges often stem from underdeveloped emotional intelligence. Part of helping your child grow is helping them learn to process their emotions in a healthy way. Emotional Intelligence is the ability to detect your own emotions on the fly and regulate…
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As Christian parents, we are called to nurture and guide our children in the ways of the Lord. However, there are times when a child’s behavioral issues may become so severe that they require more intensive intervention and support than can be provided at home. In such cases, a therapeutic boarding school rooted in Christian…
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Discipline is not just about correcting behavior, but about shaping the heart. When our child consistently refuses discipline or finds ways to circumvent it, we must approach the situation with wisdom, perseverance, and a firm grounding in biblical truth. As parents, our role is to consistently and lovingly point them towards Christ as we discipline…
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Parenting a high-functioning child with ADHD presents unique challenges and opportunities. While these children often excel academically and socially, they will still greatly benefit from tailored support to manage their symptoms and thrive. While high-functioning, your child may still benefit from professional interventions from a therapist who specializes in working with children. Cognitive-behavioral therapy can…
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As Christians, we understand that rebellion against authority is not merely a behavioral issue, but a spiritual one rooted in our fallen nature (James 4:1-3). When we address a rebellious child, we are not simply dealing with a behavioral issue, but rather we are dealing directly with their sinful heart. As we discipline rebellion, our…
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Parenting a strong-willed child is often challenging and discouraging, and it can be hard to keep the long view in mind in the midst of temper tantrums and disobedience. However, your strong willed child is not a mistake, and God can use them mightily for his purposes. Parenting a strong willed child is not finding…
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Teaching our children impulse control is one of the ways we can help them grow in Christlikeness. Proverbs 25:28 states, “A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.” By teaching your kids how to control themselves, you are helping them learn how to resist the temptation to sin, persevere…
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As followers of Christ, we are called to show love for others and the truth of Scripture in every aspect of our lives. Love and truth should be especially present in our marriages, where they serve as the bedrock of our relationship with our spouse. However, balancing love and truth can sometimes be challenging, particularly…
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In our first post in this series, we looked at how to identify your strengths. But how can Christians talk about their strengths without coming across as boastful? Christians often grapple with the idea of talking about their strengths. They are concerned about coming across as boastful or prideful, which goes against the humility we…
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What is the purpose of understanding our strengths as Christians? This two-part series will examine why Christians need to understand our strengths and how Christians can talk about them without appearing boastful. Understanding our strengths teaches us to lean into and utilize our God-given talents and abilities to glorify God through our work. Recognizing our…
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What do you do if you and your spouse find yourselves embroiled in conflict that never seems to go anywhere? In order to see progress and find resolution, it can be helpful to use a tool that we call the “Safe Zone Exercise”. A Safe Zone is where you and your spouse create a set…
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In our last post, we looked at a powerful tool for staying connected to Christ. But before we go into other options for how to stay connected to Christ throughout an entire day, you might be thinking, “Ryan, you have no idea how my sinful nature works. I can have all the right intentions to…
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Notice that when we talk about the gospel, it is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is not the Gospel of __________ (insert your name). The Gospel is primarily about Him. The J.B. Phillips’ translation of Colossians 1:15-20 makes this clear. It reads, “Now Christ is the visible expression of the invisible God. He existed…
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In our last post, we looked at why Christ is our first principle. If Christ is going to be our first principle, then we need to focus way more on Him than we do on overcoming our sins, loving our families, dreaming about success, or anything else. We are going to discuss several ways to…
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In the early 1990’s, I was sitting in Redeemer Presbyterian Church of New York City, listening to Tim Keller preach. In that sermon, he said something to the effect of “the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not only the way to be saved but is the primary way we grow.” I was captivated by that…
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Ok, now we have the word Gospel defined as good news, and we saw the dilemma that though God loves us and desires us to always be with Him, our sin demands that an eternity’s worth of God’s wrath be poured out to satisfy justice. Now, let’s get into the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The…
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In yesterday’s post, we learned that the word Gospel means good news. What about the Gospel of Jesus Christ that makes it good news? To answer that question, we need to go to the beginning. God is the Creator. As with any creator, He knows our purpose and how we are designed. Out of all…
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In the second part of our series on how to address existing nepotism, we look at steps you can take to remedy the problem and rebuild trust with employees.
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Family businesses may engage in nepotism with the best of intentions to support and care for their families but can end up with many problems. This blog post series discusses what to do if you realize that nepotism has already taken root in your business and how to rectify the situation, using four steps.
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In this post, we delve into why tough conversations are essential to a healthy family business and how to have effective, fruitful conversations.
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In our last post, we looked at how to help your child cope and process their emotions around a divorce. Today, we will look at how to work with your co-parent and how you can disciple your children. Respecting your co-parent as another person made in God’s image, even if you have a broken or…
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Our last post discussed how to talk to your child about a divorce. We will look at how to help your children cope during and after a divorce. Children may feel many different emotions and respond differently to a divorce. Some common emotions and ways you can help are: Only some emotions will likely be…
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God hates divorce. He intended that a couple would be married for life. We see in Scripture that a Biblical divorce can happen because of adultery or desertion(s). In over three decades of working with Christians, most of the time when a divorce happens, it is because one spouse doesn’t really believe the Gospel. There…
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In our last post, we looked at children’s common emotions around divorce and ways to help. One of the key ways to help children deal with the emotions and stress of a divorce is to help them identify, understand, and express their emotions. As you do this, it can be helpful to remember that God…
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It is important for families in businesses to incorporate their strengths into the business. In this blog post, we look at how to find your family’s strengths and tips for leveraging them in the family business.
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In the third post of our series on nepotism, we look at how to help and love our families without practicing nepotism.
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The second post in our series on avoiding nepotism unpacks concrete steps you can take to make sure you have fair hiring and promotion processes.
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In this blog post series, we look at how to avoid nepotism by creating hiring and promotion practices that combat it while still loving our family members well. We start by defining nepotism.
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In this post, we continue our Family Business and Family Dynamics series by looking at steps you can take to build healthy family dynamics.
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In the second post of our series on family dynamics, we look at healthy verse unhealthy dynamics and their impact on a family business.
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This blog post series is focused on family dynamics and how they impact family business. In this post, we look at what family dynamics are and how they shape our leadership.
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A family businesses can be a source of great joy, but may also have complexities that require outside help. In this blog post, we dive into our process for coming alongside family businesses to heal what needs to be healed and grow what needs to be grown.
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For many family business, the leadership styles of the current leader and the successor can be quite different. In this blog post, we discuss the leadership styles, priority, and values of incumbents and successors.
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Yesterday, we learned that all of us have good works that God has prepared in advance for us to do. God knit us together in our mothers’ wombs to accomplish these good works. There may be some good works that we can’t wait to do. However, what if we don’t want to do the good…
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As we saw yesterday, unhealthy drivenness can be a symptom of shame. Despondency can also be a symptom of shame. Instead of feeling the pressure to validate our worth through achievements, we can feel so defeated and hopeless about who we are that despondency becomes ingrained. Ironically, we can be unhealthily driven in one area…
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Shame often manifests itself through either unhealthy drivenness or despondency. Today, we’ll look at unhealthy drivenness, and tomorrow, we’ll look at despondency. In Scripture, we see that God Himself rested after He worked to create our world (Genesis 2:1-3). But as fallen humans, we can work obsessively without rest to fend off shame and prove…
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To go from shaming yourself to believing your true identity in Christ will be a process. The power of our sinful nature was destroyed when we were united with Christ on the cross in salvation (Romans 7:1-6). Now we have received a regenerated heart that is the true us (Romans 7:22). However, even though our…
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Now that we understand our identity (both the Macro and the Micro), its source (Christ, not our performance), and how our identity is based on God’s efforts, not ours, let’s look at shame. On Day One of this devotional, when Jack made identity statements like, “I suck,” “I’m hopeless,” and “I’m a failure,” he was…
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Today, we will look at the fifth step in our process of fighting shame and getting grounded in our identity in Christ. As we saw yesterday, the first four steps were: Now, let’s get into our fifth tool. This must be done repeatedly until the truth sinks into our hearts. For example, I might ask…
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Yesterday, we talked about our Macro identity: who we are as Believers through the work of Christ. Today, we’ll discuss our Micro identity. Our Micro identity is the part of our identity that is unique to us, the way no human is the exact same as another human. Our Micro identities were determined for us…
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As we learned yesterday, God, our Creator and Master, has given us our identity. To make this truth more digestible, we can break our identity into two parts: our Macro and Micro identities. Today, we will discuss the Macro identity. Tomorrow, we will discuss the Micro identity. The Macro identity is the identity we share…
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Do we have the right to determine our own identity? Are we masters of our own fate and captains of our own souls? Genesis 1:27 tells us that God created us. As our creator, He knows how we are designed. He knows our essence. He even knows our worth. Genesis 1:26 says that of all…
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is the head of a ten-person law firm. He works with more clients than most attorneys do. He’s in a very stable and loving marriage. Jack has four children who respect and value him. He’s an elder at his church. Jack also struggles with his weight. He has no margin in his life and thus…
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We all know that it is vital that we connect to God throughout the day. The more we do, the more we can’t help but praise and thank Him. If we connect to Christ throughout the day, we will abide in Him, and we are often far less tempted to indulge the flesh. Most people…
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Connecting to God is essential. We can do nothing without Him. Yet all of us have had those days that are so full that it is hard to spend as much time as we want to with Him. On those days, we can pepper in some shorter ways of connecting to God. That way, we…
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This series discusses how to have quick but meaningful quiet times with God for those (hopefully rare) days when things are absolutely hectic. In the first blog, we discussed practicing the presence of Christ and breath prayers. In the second blog, we listed four more ways to connect with God, including two more ways we…
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If you’ve read the first three blogs in this series, you should see that there isn’t any excuse not to intentionally connect to God every day, even when you are super busy. Some of the ideas we discussed could be done as you go. The rest can be done in under five minutes. Of course,…
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What is your standard of truth? What do you choose as the truth when your emotions are saying one thing, your reason is saying another thing, your friends and family are saying a third thing, experts are saying a fourth thing, and the Bible is saying a fifth thing? As Christians, we say that the…
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Because God created business, Christian business leaders must keep the Bible as their standard of truth to make wise decisions, withstand pressure to compromise their ethics, and successfully navigate relational conflict. In this post, we look at 5 practical ways you can make Scripture the standard of truth in your business.
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In this blog post series we explain 5 different tips you can use to prepare your family business successor. Here we look at 2 tips for preparing the people in your company for succession.
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In this blog post series we explain 5 different tips you can use to prepare your family business successor. Our tips in this post focus on mentoring and communicating with your successor.
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In this blog post series we explain 5 different tips you can use to prepare your family business successor. Our first tip is: apply your successor’s unique strengths and leadership style.
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Do you believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Are you the head of a company? If both answers are “Yes,” quickly examine how you’ve run that company. Think about how you’ve run every part of your life – your business, your marriage, your parenting, your relationship with God – and ask yourself this question: Have…
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As a Christian Executive or head of a company, it’s up to you to anticipate, plan for, and execute plans for all sorts of situations – expected bumps in the road, new business goals, and long-term vision. Having the ability to successfully and effectively strategize will sharpen those tools you need when situations like those…
Read MoreIf you Google how to be a strong business leader, about 708 million results pop up within half a second. While you can narrow that overwhelming number down about a third by adding “Christian” business leader to your search, the 439 million results that remain are far too many to sort through. We’ve taken some…
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Table of Contents Our Standard for Truth Apologetics Body Care Changing Beliefs and Behaviors Emotional Intelligence Executive Functioning Family and Marriage Interpersonal Relationships Loving God More Teamwork and Leadership Vocational Calling Walking Through Suffering Book List Our Standard for Truth The Bible Link to Amazon We believe that the Bible is unlike any other book;…
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If you are struggling to get better sleep, you’re certainly not alone. We live in an age of sleep deprivation. Between screen time, overworking, stress, and constant opportunity for brain stimulation, a good night’s sleep often evades us. Here’s an eye-opening question to ask yourself: When was the last time you got a great week…
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Remember Song of Solomon? it seems like the husband and wife depicted had a lot of fun together. They expressed so many forms of oneness: emotional, relational, spiritual, and obviously physical. Where has that gone in your marriage? Was it ever really there? Working with couples for two decades, I’ve seen how easy it is…
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In re-listening to Atomic Habits by James Clear, he makes it clear that when we are developing a good habit, we need to find immediate rewards for them. That alone has been so effective in helping me stay on track with the weight loss system I am on. Try adding that into whatever good habit…
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Who do you love more than any other? What have you done to show that love to them? What have you sacrificed? What struggles have you endured to love them? What joys have you experienced in loving them? Now, what do you feel when they betray you? Normally, it’s searing pain. But if you really,…
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Romans 1:18-23 teaches us that when we suppress the truth, we stop thanking God. In other words, we become ungrateful. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 echoes this sentiment, encouraging us to give thanks in all circumstances. As we become ungrateful, we lose a ton of benefits, including: This year was filled with uncertainty, anxiety, and a ton…
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The more I study gratitude, the more I am convinced that as Christian heads of companies, emphasizing gratitude to our teams will have a profound impact across our lives and even on the bottom line of the business. Look at this list of the general benefits of gratitude Stronger, healthier relationships Improved sleep quality and…
Read MoreHow we define ourselves has a tremendous impact on our lives. Our beliefs run our emotions, will, reason, and behaviors. So if we have a negative belief about who we are, then we should expect that our emotions, will, reason, and behaviors will line up with that belief. The same holds true if we have…
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I am 52 years old and am over 300 pounds. Though all my vitals are normal, there will come a day when hypertension, diabetes, or some other health issue will dominate my life. More than that, God called me to be a steward of my body. I don’t want my wife and kids to suffer…
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Christian counseling has exploded. Many counselors look to attach themselves to churches. Some churches maintain a list of referral sources. Some have even closed their list of referral sources since there were so many counselors looking to get on them. Being a counselor, I am biased as to how I would encourage churches to choose. …
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I’ve had a setback. I fear that something I really wanted to see happen may not happen. How many times in my career have I dreamed about something, developed plans around it, got my team on board with it, spent money on it, and then it came up short? I fear that this will be…
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Below is an example of how I filled out my Gospel Break template earlier this week: Gospel Break: What is the Gospel? Father, your Gospel says that you had compassion on us sinners. Despite our infidelity towards you, You were faithful to us. We were dead in our sins. We despised you, we replaced you,…
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As believers, our goal is to love God with all we have and are and to love our neighbor as ourselves. We discussed in a previous blog how that comes only when we see how much God loved us first. Unfortunately, we often only know intellectually that God loves us; we may struggle to truly…
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How do you come to really believe that God loves you with all He has and is? You believe it intellectually. You’ve seen it in the Gospel. But how do you get to a point of functionally believing something as big as that? How could the God of the Universe possibly love you, specifically? How…
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Love transforms us. When we know something we’re doing bothers someone we really love, we stop doing it. When we know that something brings someone we really love joy, we give it to them. Our lives are not what they could be because we are not functionally convinced that God loves us with all He…
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Okay, this may sound overly simplistic at first, but hear me out. The first commandment is that we are to love God with all we have and are. But when we sin, there is always the same one-two punch that Satan delivered to Adam and Eve: First, he gets us to believe that we can…
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“Now Christ is the visible expression of the invisible God. He existed before creation began, for it was through him that every thing was made, whether spiritual or material, seen or unseen. Through him, and for him, also, were created power and dominion, ownership and authority. In fact, every single thing was created through, and…
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For one reason or another, your resume is too long. Maybe you’ve finished your first draft to find you have a 5-page monster on your hands. Or maybe you’re like me, and you just dump accomplishments and dates haphazardly into an overgrown document until you need them. Maybe you’re simply overqualified for a role. Pushing…
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Being able to flush/align left and right simultaneously is extremely helpful when creating professional documents. This is text flush left. The text is aligned to the left. This is text flush right. The text is aligned to the right.. Below is text flush left and right at the same time. Notice how the texts share…
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There are countless resources on the internet about how you should format your resume. Font, font size, margin, page count, layout, expensive paper? The number of decisions you have to make when building your resume is dizzying. What decisions are right? What kind of layout will help you get the job? To answer those questions,…
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“Tell me about a time when you dealt with conflict.” “How would you handle an upset customer?” “What role do you normally take in your team?” If you’ve ever received a non-technical interview, you might have prepared for questions like these. Most interviewers use what’s called behavioral interviewing, a style of interview filled with questions…
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What day of quarantine are you on? Today is about day 45 for me. Around day 12 or so, I concluded that I was not a huge fan of COVID-19 at all. Especially as a career development coach, I’ve had a front row seat to the never-before-seen impacts of this global pandemic on our work…
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To college or not to college? That is the question. Maybe you’ve struggled to make good grades in middle and high school. Maybe the career path you want to pursue emphasizes real work experience over a degree. Maybe you simply see college as a waste of time and money. How can you tell what is the right thing…
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Jack woke up at 3am, and once again he could not fall back asleep. Not even getting into his perfect sleep position seemed to help, even though he was tired. He wasn’t particularly worried about anything. He just could not fall back asleep. He used to get good sleep, but for some reason that stopped a…
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Let’s face it. We know what Scriptures says. We know the sins we’ve kept alive for years. They are not changing. Now really think of this… Do you really want to change? You know you are supposed to change. You know you should change, but do you really want to change? Even as I type this, I…
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By Ryan C. Bailey Does someone in your life keep relating the same painful story over and over again? Is it getting old? Like you’ve heard it all before, and you wonder why they have to keep sharing it? Is there a part of you that doesn’t even want to be around that person? Listen…
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You have been through a lot of pain. A massive level of betrayal rocked your world, and life has changed. Now, some time later, the pain isn’t as sharp, but it’s there. Just reading the first paragraph of this blog makes you more aware of it than before you started reading. What happened to…
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Last weekend the DJ/musician Avicii (age 28) and “mini-me” actor Verne Troyer (age 49) both died of alcohol-related issues. These were tragic deaths related to an addiction, so I wanted to provide some perspective. Perhaps alcohol isn’t your poison, but Christians – and our Christian counselors at 1st Principle Group – have more to say…
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Ah, the much maligned multitasking. All leaders, whether they are faith-based or not – from pastors and ministry leaders to business leaders and professional service firms – doctors, lawyers, accountants, management consultants, financial consultants, other coaches and counselors – everybody is complaining about not having enough margin. They’re time-crunched and overwhelmed. It’s tough to get…
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Usually I work much more on the marriage counseling side, but I’ve been getting a lot more calls from people fresh from a divorce.They are in shock. And in so much pain. Their spouse may have wanted the divorce, not them. Now they feel shame. They feel isolated and alone. They’re losing friends. They don’t…
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I’ve been meeting with many clients about overcoming the emotional pain of divorce lately, so we thought I should talk about divorce-proofing a marriage as well. Most of our clients are Christians, and they take divorce seriously. We all know how painful (and expensive!) divorce is, so I encourage everyone: take your marriages seriously too! …
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