As I write this, the world is in upheaval. Africa experiences a plague of locusts, in Indonesia, the Krakatoa volcano erupts, countries the world over are wrestling with the virus Covid-19 and all the issues that come with it. And I would imagine there are many who, like me, are concerned about the seriousness not […]
Author: stocktontravis
Theology’s Role in Pastoral Counseling
Theology, broadly defined as the study of God and/or God’s nature, is at the core of how every person responds to the world around them. If you believe that there is no God, you are an atheist and will likely have no belief in an eternal afterlife or any sense of concern about an eternal […]
Book Review: God’s Grace In Your Suffering by David Powlison
If you are not familiar with the hymn, “How Firm a Foundation” you will quickly become familiar with it as you read God’s Grace In Your Suffering by David Powlison. The entire premise of the book is to map out the way the song addresses suffering. And he does so as only a master counselor […]
Feasting with Jesus and the Church
We’re all hungry. There’s an emptiness in us that makes us crave something. It gnaws at us, and as we all try to figure out what to fill it up with, we all keep looking for more and more. Because no matter what we try to fill that hunger with, nothing seems to help. […]
Hope
Hope I can remember what living without hope feels like. It’s like having an empty void in the center of your being that just eats at any and everything. Anything you place in your life quickly gets sucked up by the vacuum of hopelessness. “What’s the point?” begins to become your motto. And eventually as […]
When A Counselor is Desperate
When a Counselor is Desperate I’ve wondered lately about where my heart has been. The past few weeks I’ve sensed a high level of self-sufficiency, and I realize the burden this is. Perhaps that seems like a contradictory statement to you. Or maybe you have been in the church a while and recognize the error […]
A Broken Church
I have been pondering the role of the church in today’s contexts a lot as of late. America has become a post-Christian nation despite the fact that the majority of American’s claiming to be Christian. Many are questioning the role and purpose of being a part of a local church body. After all, with technology […]
Running Away
Running Away When a pain finally is acknowledged by your brain, your body responds to protect itself by pulling away. Once, when I was just a preteen, I accidentally stepped on the sharpened end of a pencil that pierced deep into my foot. Before my foot went all the way to the floor, my foot […]
The Sorrow of Tomorrow
The Sorrow of Tomorrow My heart is weary. It’s not hard to imagine why. Even those who do not have much place for faith can look around our country and point to any number of different issues causing sorrow and pain. Something is wrong with our world. I heard tonight of a story of a […]
For The Love of the Body: Losing 200 lbs
For The Love of the Body: Losing 200 lbs 200 lbs. Well, 200.8 lbs to be exact as of today. That’s how much weight I’ve lost over the past three years. All because a few guys who love Jesus were concerned for me and the witness I was giving the world around me. My […]