Tag Archives: personal growth

Why You Need to Own Your Errors

Posted on November 10, 2025 by mitchteemley

Thought for the Week “Admit your mistakes,” is hardly the motto of our current culture. If anything, it’s the opposite. Being exposed for having ever been anything other than what one claims to be can mark the end of a … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Quips and Quotes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 70 Comments

Praying God’s Words Back to Him

Posted on September 14, 2025 by mitchteemley

Some years ago, my prayer life, and in many ways my life-life, had grown stale. I knew the truth, but I wasn’t resting in it, rejoicing in it, growing in it. So I began memorizing, meditating upon, and praying Scriptures. … Continue reading →

Posted in For Pastors and Teachers, Quips and Quotes, Religion and Faith | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 51 Comments

Learning How to Be the Tree

Posted on June 5, 2025 by mitchteemley

Note: The incident below occurred years ago when Cleveland’s reputation was at an all-time low. I’ve spent time there since, and thoroughly enjoyed it! Would this be the worst layover ever? I’d missed my connecting flight, and now I had … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, For Pastors and Teachers, Humor, Memoir, Religion and Faith | Tagged , , , , , , , | 58 Comments

Four Steps to Becoming a Better Listener

Posted on June 2, 2025 by mitchteemley

Thought for the Week I’m a monologist. By which I mean I’m a dedicated one-way communicator. Writing and lecturing come naturally to me. But conversation? Well… An old girlfriend once stared at me in disbelief and said, “You live in … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Humor | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 71 Comments

How to Remember Your Future

Posted on May 19, 2025 by mitchteemley

Thought for the Week Thirteen Years. That’s how long Marcel Proust spent writing and expanding his seven-volume autobiographical novel. He obsessed over getting every detail right, and leaving nothing out. Only no one would publish it. So he published it … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Memoir | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 37 Comments

Are All Christians Hypocrites?

Posted on March 24, 2025 by mitchteemley

Thought for the Week “I don’t go to church because churches are full of hypocrites!” This is an increasingly common sentiment. But is it true? Are churches full of hypocrites? Duh. Are AA meetings full of alcoholics? I’m a Christian, … Continue reading →

Posted in For Pastors and Teachers, Humor, Religion and Faith | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 81 Comments

Writers, It’s Time to Sin Boldly!

Posted on January 30, 2025 by mitchteemley

Tips for Writers Martin Luther famously said, “Sin boldly, but believe more boldly still!” In other words, if you’re going to do something, don’t do it by halves! While editing my novel, I became aware that I’d overused the phrase … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Humor, Storytelling, Writing and Blogging | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 29 Comments

What We Will Be Has Not Yet Been Revealed

Posted on January 5, 2025 by mitchteemley

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation. The old things have passed away; behold, the new has come into being.” ~2 Corinthians 5:17 “I have come that you may have life, and have it abundantly.” ~John … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, For Pastors and Teachers, Quips and Quotes, Religion and Faith | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 21 Comments

The Creature With Two Brains!

Posted on September 30, 2024 by mitchteemley

Thought for the Week When I was in high school, my science class went to see Griffith Park Observatory’s famous Planetarium Show. We leaned back and emitted a communal “Oooooo!” as the dome darkened and a giant tinkertoy projected the … Continue reading →

Posted in For Pastors and Teachers | Tagged , , , , , , , | 27 Comments

The Crisis You Can’t Ignore

Posted on September 26, 2024 by mitchteemley

No one gets to opt out. For most of us, it happens somewhere in our 20s. But It can begin earlier, or later.* Usually there’s an external trigger, possibly more than one: the death of a family member, a physical … Continue reading →

Posted in For Pastors and Teachers, Quips and Quotes | Tagged , , , , , , , | 12 Comments