Personal Discipline | Welcome to Abounding Joy!

Tuning in to God–Can You Hear Him?

Most of you are too young to remember the old radios with vacuum tubes and old-fashioned tuners and dials. Sometimes it was very difficult to put just the right touch on the dial to tune in a station. It seemed that there […]

Wow! This is Controversial! Where Am I Going to Stand?

The world is full of controversial subjects! Jesus and His followers were nothing if not controversial! If we do our best to follow Him closely, we can expect to be somewhat controversial as well! We need to have a personal plan for […]

Better Grades Through Memorizing Scripture!

Today I attended a workshop for math teachers where I heard many teachers bemoaning the fact that they have so many students who seem to retain so little math that they presumably learned in previous grades. It is an almost universal teacher […]

Why Has God Left Us Here? Learning from the Life of David Brainerd

Not to sit and dream of heaven! Not to make ourselves as comfortable as we can! Not to have as much fun as possible! We are here to count for Him! to bring Him glory! To use our resources to cry out […]

Conquering Addiction–Part 2 of 2

Overcoming Addiction–Part Two Keys to Victory Virtually all addicts have a problem with denial. They are genuinely convinced that they can “handle it.” Accept that when loved ones believe that you have a problem, you have a problem–whether you believe it or […]

Conquering Addiction–Part 1 of 2

This is a brief paper that will give some general direction to people who are struggling with various kinds of addictions and who would like to obtain victory over those addictions. Some overall guidelines are offered. Specific details for dealing with specific […]

Interruptions Leading to Spiritual Setbacks

It’s amazing how many times we make good starts on decisions that require discipline–only to have a disruption in our routine for a few days blow us out of the water! Off to a Good Start! A decision that leads to spiritual […]

Husbands, Wives, and Mutual Interests

It is a great tragedy when husbands and wives claim to love each other and then live their lives almost totally separate from one another! He has his interests which consume his time and energy, and she has hers. But they are […]

What Is Your Project?

Have you thought about the tremendous spiritual power of having personal spiritual projects? Let’s consider it! Sometimes Christians flounder in their spiritual growth not knowing exactly in what direction to go. They are doing devotions. They are going to church. They are […]

Past Years — Coming Years

As you look back over the past couple of years, do you have any regrets? What do you plan to do about that? As you look back over the past couple of years, are you excited about what God has done through […]