When’s the last time someone didn’t meet the expectations you had for them? Like 5 minutes ago, right? We expect to get our burger in the drive-thru without ketchup just like we ordered it. Three blocks later our expectation of burger goodness is shattered by no ketchup. We want our money back…or a chance to explain to the dude that made the mistake just how big a moron he is. And then there’s the really big expectation with big disappointments. Sometimes the blown expectations of others wreck our reality and our big expectations explode right along with theirs. It’s those kind of...

What to Do When You Don’t Know What to Do: 8 Principles for Finding God’s Way is a short-but not-so-short book designed to help people who are overwhelmed by life. It speaks to addiction and to life situations, especially relationship issues. The book has eight short chapters and some very good bonus material. Cloud and Townsend give solid, clear advice on how to cut through the emotional fog of addiction and relationship problems. That’s the short part. The not-so-short-part is that the authors’ clear, solid advice comes in eight overarching principles, nine qualities and characteristics of...

This Christmas, the Miller family will have less financial-driven stress than we’ve had in recent memory. That’s right less financial stress. That’s because we had our own personal recession four years ago. We’ve (I’ve) learned a lot and know what it takes to get by on less. But first a little background… Four years ago I lost my job as a pastor and my income fell to 40% of what I had been making. It had been way too long since I had left my Fortune 100 job. Skill sets for the new marketplace had changed, so I worked as many as three jobs at a time to  keep income...

The first mission trip I remember going on was with my parents when they went to Mexico when I was three.  The only things I remembered from that trip is that I let one of my new Mexican friends play with my six-shooter cap gun and that I really liked sitting on the backseat armrest to see of out my dad’s ’61 Sedan DeVille. Some things have changed since then.  The ’61 Cadillac has been replaced by an Airbus A330 22, worn out buses, and bora boras.  Handwritten letters and land line phone calls have given way to email, texting, and surfing the Interwebs via BGAN.  Some things...

If we’re searching for something we can find justification or even validation for it most anywhere.  I did that searching for contentment this week.  It’s always been one of those things that’s been elusive.  I wasn’t raised with much materially, so I’ve always thought I was trying to compensate somehow. I still don’t have much.  Sometimes I secretly wish a close friend or relative would win a PowerBall or MegaMillion and throw me a bone or two.  After all, it’s illegal for a Bapticostal to gamble, right? So I’m preparing a talk for this weekend and...

Today, we salute you Mr. Semi-Permanent Food Baby Guy…keeper of the double standard.  You want your wife to look like Halle Berry but it’s okay if you look like Larry the Cable Guy.  You wonder why your wife lost her girlish figure but you can’t figure out why you just ate your fourth Krispy Kreme.  While your wife is at least thinking about losing weight, you’re at the “All You Can Eat Buffet” telling the cashier, “I’ll take two of those, please.” That’s right, Mr. Double Standard, go ahead and get your semi-permanent food baby...