My father told me a life changing principle:  “If you want to be free, you have to let others be free.”  Control never changes people.

That works in marriage, also.  

Why are you so surprised when your spouse is exactly the person you married?

Easter is my favorite season.  I love Christmas as the “beginning” and I love Easter as the “completion.”

How does Easter affect my thoughts, my relationships, and my choices…EVERY DAY?

For all it’s wealth, America ranked 14th on the “World Happiness Index” recently.  Whatever happened to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?”

Does not a strong economy bring automatic happiness?  Absolutely not.

Here are my top 10 secrets to maintaining a happy heart, regardless of my environment:

“The desert is the greatest place for a miracle.”

All of us go through deserts.  It’s confusing, hopeless, and DRY.

I have good news for you:  It can also be the prime spot for a miracle.

Money.  It’s not supposed to be hard.  It is, however, without knowledge.  A zillion books have been written about it, but one small story and three little principles explain it all.

It’s about a desperate widow…

Someone great departed Earth last week:  Billy Graham’s spirit left his frail body and went to heaven.

He will lie in state in the U.S. Capitol this week.  All Congressional business will stop those two days. How did this simple North Carolina pastor dominate the world’s religious headlines for almost 70 years?

"Integrity."

It happened again.  17 students killed, many wounded.  Something has to change.  We are the strongest nation in the world but weakest in controlling killers.

God has a solution.

Your marriage may need a total RESET.

Things build up between a couple.  Every Valentine’s Day, millions of married people try to “recharge” their marriage with chocolate candy.

Is it possible for a marriage to actually “reset,” to become like brand new? 

They call it stealth warfare.

Bombers that can fly without radar detection.  Special ops who can slip in and out without detection.

There is an ultimate war you may have never known was happening all around you:  spiritual warfare.

All of us go through trials.

In every trial, there is an Accuser (Prosecutor), a defendant (you!), and a Judge (God).

That trial you are walking through now has a spiritual dimension playing out behind it.  Satan, the Accuser, is seeking to capitalize on any of our many weaknesses.

Here are 5 important things you can do to overcome Satan’s pounding accusations:

“Know thyself.”  This simple little phrase was spoken by 11 different Greek sages, including Socrates.

“Keep watch over yourself.”  This was spoken by Paul the apostle to the Ephesian elders (Acts 20:28).

Here are 10 things I monitor on my internal “dashboard”: 

FEAR is the biggest enemy to your future.

It comes in many forms, mainly having to do with your future:  failure, rejection, lack, or death (to name a few).  Abram was mighty in battle yet his deepest fear was not having a successor.

How will you overcome the fears that limit you?            

Growth is first internal, then external.

Whatever your job, your business, your ministry, or your finances, you can grow beyond it this year. Change is inevitable, growth is optional.  Wouldn’t it feel good to CRUSH that invisible barrier you haven’t been able to penetrate?

This blog is somewhat of a confession.  Limits are my biggest weakness.  I over schedule, red-line, high performance everything.  As I come to the end of a year, I realize it. 

How can I change it this year?  “Margin.”

Where is “home?”  God is Home.

“Real” estate is not “real.” It is like a motel room.  This world is tangible but it is temporary.  Set your affection on the Person of God Himself and you will enter into true happiness.

Here are a few perspectives to keep your focus correct going into a New Year:

How would you like to sit down with Jesus Christ Himself for an “end of the year review?”  Don’t you wish He could coach you, challenge you, and change you for a greater year in 2018?

He did.  It is found in Revelation chapter two. 

All failure is foundational.  Whether it is your marriage, your ministry, or your money, it all comes down to one issue:  “foundation repair.”

Jesus said that a wise man “digs deep” and builds on a foundation.  A foolish man builds on the sand.

How do you repair your foundation?

Jeff Bezos (CEO of Amazon) just went over $100 billion in net worth this week.  That is more than the individual GDP of 146 out of 211 countries!

That’s ridiculous prosperity. 

How do you insure that your soul is prospering that well?

They call it the “baptism by fire.”  Fire is pressure.  Fire is refinement.  Fire transforms.

It may be happening to you.  Don’t worry, join the crowd. 

Here are some things to remember about this process of refinement:

Grief is real.  It doesn’t go away quickly.  It requires time, Scripture, and support.

One year ago this week, my son Jonathan lost a pre-born baby.  He and Angie’s journey included a “healing song” Jonathan wrote that has brought them through. 

Here are a few thoughts to help you in your journey of recovering from personal loss: