In my professional life I talk with many people before I actually meet them.  Several times people have told me that I didn't look like I sounded.  I have heard that many Hollywood stars of the silent movie era never made the transition to the "talkies" because their voices didn't correspond with their "on screen" appearance.

Which is the real person?  The one we see or the one we hear?  That might sound like a stupid question but there are people who are hard to look at who are easy…

We don't have to go any further than Genesis 1:27 as explained more particularly in Genesis 2:18 to establish our need for relationships.  Relationships empower us.  The greater the relationship the more we are empowered.  Not all "empowerment" is good.  Some relationships are definitely detrimental to our and society's well being.

The power from a relationship flows from the relationship.  The relationship doesn't change who we are so much as it changes our capability.  Consider the…

Love and trust are not the same.  Jesus loves us.  He doesn't necessarily trust us (John 2:24 - 25  But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.)  Nowhere in the scriptures are we commanded to Trust our Neighbor.  We are told to turn the other cheek, go the extra mile but not to trust.  In fact we are told to be as innocent as a dove and as wise as a serpent.  When people on spiritual journeys…

Continuing on my sharing of my weekend at Powell House in November I want to share another mini-revelation.  It's very easy to fall into the trap of judging if a "retreat" was good or bad.  Some years seem to have more powerful moments than others but does that make them better?  Opening ourselves up to the Holy Spirit, making ourselves vulnerable, is like undergoing surgery.  After the operation you have to wait for the anesthesia to wear off, then you have to handle the pain and do…