How to you rise up from rock bottom? Chris Herren, former basketball star, helps people do just that after hitting rock bottom himself.

Experiencing loss is much like being sent into a deep emotional exile. The intense grief that accompanies loss can leave you feeling isolated and disconnected from the life you once knew and cherished. However, it is possible to find your way back. Here are five practical steps you can take to begin the journey of healing and restoration, ultimately returning to a life full of hope and flourishing.

Striving to always be your best can get the best of you. Perfectionism can lead to depression. But understanding God’s acceptance might relieve you of this burden.

Pastors, like politicians, have a base of supporters. How they treat their base can cause their followers to grow or decline. This post gives practical ideas on how to affirm your base and include newcomers.

Even through hard times, God’s goodness and mercy will follow us and eventually catch up! Day 40 of the 40 day devotional.

When God brought people out of a time of trouble and suffering, he often gave them a double blessing. Are you able to let God bless you?

If you want to return from the wilderness after a major setback in your life, you may need to leave some friends behind. These are necessary endings in order to get your life back.

When you experience a setback, it’s easy to take on a negative identity. But if you want to make a comeback, it’s important to take on a new identity, one that’s defined by God.

When you experience a setback, it’s easy to let your shame keep you from making a comeback. If you want to recover from your setback it’s important to face your shame.

Who are you, really? We put a lot of energy in presenting our best self, but is that really helping us? If you are stuck in a failure or setback, the first step to recovery is to admit who you really are, warts and all.

When everything has been stripped from your life and you stand alone and “naked” what do you do? Where do you find your worth? What can you learn about yourself? Facing your nakedness can be a turning point for you.

Oswald Chambers spoke of a “discipline of darkness.” This means that God teaches us things during dark times that we will never learn in the light. What might God be teaching you during your season of loss or hardship?

God allows hard times to come our way and uses them to shape and develop us. We can fight it or yield to what God is doing within us. He wants to help us to exchange our pride for humility.

When you’ve experienced a setback (exile) it’s natural to experience isolation and loneliness. But God never abandons us. He sends us companions to comfort us.

When you experience a loss or setback, it’s easy to go into denial rather than face the painful emotions of anger, fear, and sadness.

We all have setbacks in life. For some of us, we get stuck in these setbacks, what I call “exile.” This post begins a 40 day journey to help you move from setback to comeback in your life. Join me.

I’m heading back to Mexico to speak to pastors about spiritual abuse. I’m also releasing the Spanish edition of my book Broken Trust (Una Confianza Rota) for free on Kindle.

There is an inverse connection between shame and Sabbath, or the ability to rest. Shame causes us to strive for acceptance and never enter the rest that God has for us. But when you stop to rest, you might hear God’s voice of love.

Healing the Hurts of Your Past is available for free on Kindle and Audible for a limited time.

Shame is a painful emotion. As a result, we resort to a variety of coping mechanisms to cover the pain. But is it worth the trouble?