In my office, when it comes to truth, I always say that there are at least 3 sides to every story: yours, mine and the truth (which is generally somewhere in the middle). Over the years, I’ve come to see truth as a largely cognitive concept, an intellectual pursuit. That is, your truth comes out of your perception, which is based on a set of cognitions, or thoughts, that you have in your mind … [Read more...]
What’s Your W.O.T.Y.?
January 20, 2020 by
Last January, a friend of mine posted that she was working on her Word of the Year (WOTY). When I first read this, I thought, “Oh, joy. Someone has created another pop psychology trend to sell special journals and stuff. It will take over social media for the next 30 days and then disappear overnight like a parking lot carnival.” But, I have to admit, the idea lingered in my mind… As I … [Read more...]
Don’t Be a Slot Machine Parent
October 21, 2019 by
When we want a child to behave a certain way, one of the best ways to ensure this is by using reinforcement. A schedule of reinforcement indicates whether a behavior will be reinforced after every time it occurs (continuous) or after only some times (intermittent). Each of those frequencies also has 2 possibilities, fixed and variable, resulting in 4 schedules of reinforcement. Of those, the … [Read more...]
SPIRITUAL WARFARE: Will Jews go to Heaven?
August 31, 2019 by
Will Jews go to Heaven? They don’t believe that Jesus is the Son of God, but weren’t they the chosen people? Pastor Ryan Nunez of Palm Valley Church: Making judgments on who will or will not be in Heaven is beyond any of us to decide or determine. This is even more important to note when we are talking about entire groups of people. God alone knows the heart of man, so only He can judge. … [Read more...]
School Shootings and Other Entitlement Fallout
August 16, 2019 by
After the school shooting in Florida awhile back, my husband became engaged in a discussion on social media about gun control. He responded to a post a man made noting how frustrated the man was with the “thoughts and prayers” sentiments he kept seeing on social media in response to these senseless acts of violence. The implication in his post was that faith has nothing to do with the solution to … [Read more...]
PVC Podcast: Trauma, Part 2
May 7, 2019 by
So, Pastor Mark Grochocki of Palm Valley Church and I kept talking after Trauma, Part 1. He's a marriage and family therapist, so we ended up with a lot to talk about! Turns out, it was being recorded, so the team decided to post it. Hope you find it informative and helpful. Listen to "Episode 103 pt. 2: Mend the Mind" on Spreaker. … [Read more...]
PVC Podcast: Trauma
April 19, 2019 by
Check out this podcast I did with PVC's Pastor Mark Grochocki on trauma and its physical and psychological effects. The actual podcast has more than what's below. Listen to "Episode 103: Mend the Mind" on Spreaker. What’s your background and area of study? I went to the University of Texas at Austin for my undergraduate education and then Baylor University in Waco for my … [Read more...]
SPIRITUAL WARFARE: There are so many religions in the world. Who’s to say Christianity is the right path? Do millions of people who aren’t Christians have it all wrong?
March 28, 2019 by
Pastor Ryan of Palm Valley Church: This is a discussion that can go down so many paths. One can view all types of evidence: archeological, historical, textural or Biblical. If you took any of these approaches and did a side by side comparison with Christianity and any other world religion, the evidence would side fully with Christianity being correct. There are several authors I would recommend if … [Read more...]
SPIRITUAL WARFARE: Why are some children born into suffering with terminal illnesses and/or taken away from their parents before they even see their first birthday?
January 6, 2019 by
Pastor Ryan of Palm Valley Church: There are some questions that can never be fully answered. This is one of them. There is no reason or logic that we, as humans, can discern for sick children. There is not an answer of which we are aware, as humans, that will make us feel better about sick children. There is not a simple Bible verse for us to quote, as humans, that explains the suffering of sick … [Read more...]
SPIRITUAL WARFARE: HOW GOOD IS GOOD ENOUGH?
October 29, 2018 by
"I'm a good person. I'm kind, helpful, generous and loving. Isn't that what God wants? Won't being a good person get me into Heaven?" Pastor Ryan of Palm Valley Church: If being a good person was what it took to get to Heaven, I would have a hard time making a case for a good God. That might sound a bit shocking, but follow me here for a bit… If “being good” was the requirement for getting … [Read more...]
