Embracing the Wounded
One Heart at a Time

DAVE & JANET WERNLI

The Only Response that Angers God

The Bible is full of people making excuses to get out of what God’s calling them to do, including Jonah, Gideon, Saul, Moses, even Ananias in the New Testament (Acts 9), and many others. We do it too. I think it’s usually out of fear. God always calls us to something we can’t do without […]

Why We Choose Confusion over Clarity

Nobody wants to be confused. Or do we? It turns out a lot of our confusion is intentional. We all say we want clarity. But, all too often, we actually choose confusion over clarity because confusion gives us these 3 benefits. (1) Confusion Lets Us Avoid Conflict I heard a podcast where a business owner […]

How to Find Your Calling with 3 Easy Lists

God has a unique calling on each one of us, our unique contribution to the world. The powers of darkness are terribly afraid of it, because when you walk in your calling, they lose real estate. The enemy’s strategy is to so grievously wound us, as early in life as possible, that we don’t ever […]

Why You Are Not Defined by Your Actions

Our neighborhood’s polling place is the local elementary school. When I voted in the last election, I saw a huge banner hanging in the school cafeteria that read, “You Are Defined by Your Actions.” Nothing could be further from the truth. I get it. The school is trying to instill good behavior. That’s a good, […]

How to Be Honest without Being Mean

Can we be honest without being mean? Our churches have taught us to be “good” people. To be nice. To be kind. And that’s good – kindness is a fruit of the spirit, after all (Galatians 5:22-23). The problem is, with too many churches, it stops right there. Be nice. Be affirming. Don’t rock the […]

How to Engage Emotionally Triggered People without Getting Skewered

With the overturn of Roe v. Wade, our culture is in an emotionally volatile season right now. It can be scary, difficult, and even dangerous to jump into the conversation. But we must. We have the life-giving truth that sets people free. God has called us to such a time as this (Esther 4:14). We […]

Wonderfully Disruptive Spiritual Technology

I have a friend who had a dream. People were standing in lines waiting to go somewhere, or get into something. Many lines, straight and orderly. Very polite, very systematic. But then some people came along who created quite a disturbance by pulling people out of the lines. They were very adamant about convincing people […]

3 Ways Healthy Churches Do Life Together

In this fallen world, the human condition is a paradox of two contradictory, deep primal pulls. One is longing to be fully known, and to know others, in relationally intimacy. The other is being terrified of it. We are terrified of the intimacy we so deeply long for. That terror usually is there because our […]

4 Key Signs of a Healthy Church

I’ve been asked recently how to find a healthy church. What does that even look like? Are there any? Does such a thing even exist? Well, I’m happy to report, having found one ourselves and having seen many, yes, they do exist. I’ve also been in unhealthy churches for years, and there are many of […]

The 3 Most Powerful Tools for Freedom & Healing

One of the biggest disagreements in Christendom is over counseling versus inner healing versus deliverance. And within that sentence lies the whole problem: Saying the word “versus.” It’s not “either/or.” It’s “both/and.” In our scarcity mindset and fear of doing it wrong, we so often make a controversy on earth where there isn’t one in […]

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