Changing Constitution

Over the past season of my life, something unexpected has been awakening in me — a new awareness and appreciation for hope. Not the thin, sentimental kind, but a deeper, sturdier…

I went to London with my wife and two of my kids to visit my daughter who is there studying for three months. Seven days. I had no agenda. That turned…

Tim Fletcher, a specialist in complex trauma, posits that 12 basic needs—spanning physical, emotional, and spiritual domains—must be consistently met to feel whole, content, and secure. Unmet needs, often stemming from…

After 30 years of sobriety and faithful step work, I experienced real relief and genuine growth — but something remained buried that I couldn’t reach. I was doing the right things,…

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” –…

A Personal Framework for Moving from Fear to Love Developed with Richard | March 2026 The Root: Pride and the Inward-Curved Self After 30+ years of sobriety, faith, and searching, clarity…

I have identified a pattern that fuel’s underlying relational anxiety: fear, then control, then perfectionism, then shame. My new discipline is to breathe, depersonalize, practice mindfulness, then craft a loving response.…

If feelings aren’t tangible, then how can they be the most real thing we know? This is a beautiful paradox worth sitting with. The assumption embedded in the question is that…

What working the steps looks like… “I earnestly advise every alcoholic to read this book through, and though perhaps he came to scoff, he may remain to pray.” William D. Silkworth,…

If You Have a Jesus You Like, You Have the Wrong One (my attitude “problem”) Reflections on Bill Dogterom, Romans 12, and the Impossible Command to Love “Bill Dogterom has taught…

February 2026 You: “And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.” —…

The following is a real conversation about growing up in a home with an alcoholic parent, the lasting effects on family members, and one man’s journey toward freedom and joy. What…

You: In Heb 12:4, what does it mean to shed blood? Claude: In Hebrews 12:4, the verse reads: “In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point…

Jesus’s teaching about the “easy yoke” (Matthew 11:28-30) is actually pointing in almost the opposite direction from “manning up” in the traditional sense. When Jesus says “My yoke is easy and…

A “mensch” (sometimes spelled “mench”) is a Yiddish word that means a person of integrity and honor—basically, a really good person. It describes someone who is: When someone says “He’s a…

The Question That Started Everything In exploring the story of Judas and his betrayal of Jesus, a profound question emerged: If God is love, why didn’t God’s love save Judas? What…

There’s a difference between having insight and being free. Many people spend years gaining clarity about their childhood, their trauma, their patterns, their coping strategies. They can explain exactly why they…

I used to think love was something I should naturally feel if I was doing life right. If I was spiritually grounded, emotionally healthy, and mature enough, then patience and warmth…

This morning as I reflect on certain beliefs and attitudes that affect my relationships in a way that stirs up dissension, I realize that my self-centeredness colors my posture constantly and…

The Beginning: Looking for Labels I started this conversation wondering if I was an “empath” and if my mom was a “narcissist.” I was looking for a framework, something to help…

There’s a painful realization that can hit hard: I am selfish. Not in a casual way. Not in a dismissive way. But in a way that feels heavy. In a way…

A person who is constitutionally incapable of being honest with themselves typically struggles with deeply ingrained psychological or emotional barriers that prevent them from confronting difficult truths. This could be due…

“He has identified us as his own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts.” (2 Corinthians 1:22 NLT) Your faith will grow stronger as you focus on your identity in…