Why does the Lord want us to release our anger before the sun goes down? Many reasons, but here’s one of them: Anger is a burden we are not designed to carry. God can shoulder that weight, but we really cannot.
Our default emotions are peace and joy (Romans 14:17, Galatians 5:22), and God wants to return us there. More in my new course, How to Forgive, found here.
Dwight
I am so excited to announce that the How to Forgive online course is now live! You’ll find it here…
I’m very excited about this course. I think it will help many people, and I hope you’ll join me in spreading the word. You can give others this link: bit.ly/forgive2
4 Reasons Why We Struggle to Forgive … and What You Can Do About It (Lesson #1)
Jesus commands us to forgive. Medical science confirms forgiving others makes us healthier and stronger. But it is so hard to do. Especially when we believe these lies about what happens when we forgive.
Why forgiving others is one of the best things you can do for yourself (Lesson #2)
While it may seem like forgiving others diminishes you, the exact opposite is true. Here’s how forgiving others makes you stronger and healthier both emotionally and spiritually.
Why forgiving others does NOT open the door to abuse (Lesson #3)
Forgiving others does NOT turn you into a doormat. It does NOT invite or excuse abuse. Explore the important differences between forgiving and reconciliation.
Anger shows up as a friend, stays as an enemy (Lesson #4)
Yes, anger does have its place. But, like dynamite in the wrong hands, it can quickly become dangerous. In this lesson, we explore how and why anger is different than most negative emotions, and why it’s so important to know what to do with our anger.
Forgive with your eyes wide open: Why forgiveness has nothing to do with denial (Lesson #5)
“It wasn’t that bad.” “I’m not really that angry.” Sometimes what may sound pious and godly actually gets in the way of forgiving from our hearts.
Why blanket forgiveness seldom works (Lesson #6)
Can you forgive Uncle George in ten minutes if he abused you for ten years? Probably not. But here’s what you can do instead.
Understanding how your mind works reveals why we need to change our approach to forgiving others (Lesson #7)
The vast majority of people don’t understand this simple concept, but once it makes sense, then you can easily see why most approaches to forgiving others simply will not work. Thankfully, God has a much better alternative for us.
The key to moving forward is resolving the past (Lesson #8)
You can try to forget the past, but the past doesn’t forget you—until you deal with it.
The trade-up approach to forgiving others (Lesson #9)
This step-by-step approach puts together everything we’ve learned, and leverages the supernatural power of God to change our hearts.
The under-anger approach to forgiving others (Lesson #10)
Here’s an alternative approach that works better for some people or some situations. Again, we find a way to access God’s grace, so he can do the supernatural work in our lives that only He can do.
Is there a course fee? Here’s how this course works. You take the first six lessons for free. At that point you decide if this is bringing value to you. I’ll suggest a course fee at that point. You are free to pay more or less depending on your situation. If you’re truly destitute, pay nothing. It’s all okay. There’s no pressure. Nobody’s judging you. Nobody’s looking over your shoulder to see what you’re going to do. I don’t want money to prevent you from getting the benefit from this course.
In other news, I haven’t forgotten about The Gift of Your Influence. I plan to reshoot most of those videos and shoot the videos I haven’t completed yet and offer it as an online course hopefully sometime in the next few weeks. I don’t think I’ll continue using the blog and the blog email for that course as I want to free up the blog for other purposes.
Many thanks and many blessings!
Dwight
What inspires you to respect someone?
Respect sets your level of influence in someone else’s life. More on the video …
In the video I push back against some very common advice. I see it a different way. But what about you? What are your thoughts?
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Today Kim and I have been married for 40 years.
What’s it like being married to someone for 40 years?
Kim and I spend time together—far more than most couples. Does familiarity breed contempt? No. I joke with her, and she smiles and rolls her eyes. Then she says, “I laughed at that the first time you told me—35 years ago.” At times we work together. But mostly she does her thing, and I do mine. Then we take a break and play Rack-O or Bible trivia or Casino. In the evening we drive around the block, count deer, and look at the sunset together. It’s a cheap date, but we just like being with each other. She reads books to me at night. Then she says, “Are you asleep?”
I like it that her voice is the last thing I hear every night.
40 years—I guess that’s a long time. It doesn’t seem long. It seems like a week. But when I stop and think about it, I realize it’s more than halfway from “I do” to “’til death do us part.” I ponder that—maybe more than I should. It’s sobering. But it’s also like a mystery. What will my wife be like in that heavenly home where her soul is free from pain, and laughter flows from her heart?
I think of the storms we’ve weathered—storms brought on mainly by my own stupidity and insecurity. It seemed at times like the house of our marriage would crumble, but it didn’t. She kept on believing in me even when I could find no reason to believe in myself.
I think of our children—such a mixture of promise and unpredictability in each one—a treasure that we share. I am humbled and awed that I got to be their dad.
I think of our dreams—what they say about us. We never stopped dreaming. We took the road less traveled; it twisted and turned, taking us places we never imagined we would be.
I hold her hand, and I look up into the heavens. Our lives here are small, yes. But I’m glad, Kim Rohrer Clough, that I get to share mine with you.
Happy Anniversary!
Dwight
PS. The picture is the first picture of Kim and me together taken on my 20th birthday in 1977.
PPS. I plan to come back to The Gift of Your Influence. Sorry for the delay. I just needed some time to focus on some other things. Thanks.
Hi all
I just wanted to share this quick announcement about the release of this new e-book.
If you’ve ever asked questions like these…
I think you’ll love this book. Actually, it’s two books plus more. Check it out here…
Dwight
How do you activate the gift of your influence? Here’s the first key: taking the time to understand others. My thanks to John Henry for pointing this out to me several years ago. Enjoy the video!
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Being a child of God offers us a place to belong, intimacy with God, freedom from fear, and many other benefits. But it also empowers us to make a difference in a world where there are supernatural forces at work resisting good. More on the video…
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What do you see as your most important job?
If you owned a business or ran a ministry, would you delegate your most important job to someone else?
Yet God does that with us. He gives us the most important job. More in the video…
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We don’t live in a vacuum. As a member of the body of Christ, everything we do affects every other member. When one part of your body is sick or injured, your entire body suffers. But as that part gets recovers, your entire body rejoices. The same is true in the body of Christ.
As we take to the Lord our anxieties, anger, shame, temptations, failures, loneliness, and anything else that is dragging us down spiritually—and receive from Him what only He can provide, not only does our health improve, but so does the health of the entire body of Christ. More in the video.
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Jesus has given you the role to be His witness (Acts 1:8). That means you carry around with you an important tool that will make a powerful difference in the lives of others. What is that tool?
Your story. Your story brings God into focus for others. Your story helps others to feel and experience His love. Your story makes clear who God is and how much He cares.
More on the video…
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