Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed. (Proverbs 15:22)

I have been cursed with a weakness that has at times wreaked havoc on my life.  In fact, it’s a double curse, and I’ve been spending a lot of time recently trying to overcome this terrible flaw of mine.  Worse than any addiction or disability, it threatens everything I put my efforts into.  Just what is my Achilles’ heel, you ask?

I am an intelligent man.

I am one of those men who always got A’s in my classes throughout high school and college.  I could fall out of bed and write a ten page paper.  I could study the night before and ace an exam. 

And, to make things worse, I am a man.  A self-reliant, figure it out myself, thanks for your input but I’ll be okay on my own, I don’t need to ask for directions, I’ll find it myself, red-blooded man. 

Like I said, I am doubly cursed.

Some of you, either because you are also an intelligent man or are married to an intelligent man, understand where I’m coming from, get why this is a double curse.  Read more »

This week’s guest blogger is Jim Quigley.  Jim has been a part of NewLife since last August, after moving up from New Jersey, and is an engineer who also works with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes at Trinity College.

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”  (Matthew 5:11-12)

As I pondered Eric’s sermon this past Sunday on John 8:1-11, with the condensed message of laying down our stones and not judging others, I started to think about the proper reaction of those being judged.  How are we supposed to react to those who are judging and persecuting us, whether the accusations are true or false?  As with most questions of this type, if not all, the answer is found by looking to Jesus as our example. 
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This week’s guest blogger is Anthony Varesio.  Anthony will be contributing to the NewLife blog on occasion with his, as he puts it, “unfiltered and in-progress diary of the personal challenges and revelations that come with my pursuit of becoming a better person and living ‘The Way’.” 

May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. (Romans 15:5-7)

I am so inundated with thoughts of spiritual and moral recovery that I have created a “traffic jam” in my mind.  I could literally write a rambling list of, or inventory of, self-realizations, focus items, or epiphanies to run an endless ink well dry.  But, one thing is weighing heavy on my mind; now stay with me, this could be a delicate situation:
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