by Rhett Smith | Sep 29, 2016 | Anxiety, Podcast
When I was in my early 30’s I was fortunate enough to have a really great Marriage and Family Therapy supervisor in D. Michael Smith. He was actually one of many early great mentors I had and supervisors as I pursued my license as a therapist. But one day while...
by Rhett Smith | May 5, 2016 | Anxiety, Podcast
As I mentioned in my podcast last week (Sabbath Rest and Identity), I have been thinking a lot about the topic of Sabbath over the course of the last year. It seems that it comes up in more and more of my conversations, and it’s absence in the lives of many...
by Rhett Smith | Jun 26, 2014 | Marriage
Last week I came across this article that stated, being ignored is worse than being bullied. I had to stop and think about that statement for a second. Nevermind the article and the research, I wanted to just think about that statement, especially since we hear so...
by Rhett Smith | Jul 22, 2013 | Men
For the last seven to eight years I’ve really been exploring this idea of vocation, and it seems that it is a topic that I’ve had more and more conversations with people as of late. In fact, I blogged on this topic just a couple of months ago. In my...
by Rhett Smith | May 15, 2013 | Intentional Living
If you are like me, then your mind probably moves at time from one tangential thought to the next. And when you come to your current thought you can look back at the preceding thoughts that got you to where you are currently at. Does that above sentence even make...
by Rhett Smith | May 14, 2013 | Parenting
This week I’ve been working on an article for Fuller Youth Institute on the topic of failure. What do we do when our kid’s fail? Or more importantly, do we allow our kids to fail, or are we constantly rescuing them from it? It’s been a tough article...
by Rhett Smith | Apr 2, 2013 | Faith
I love this video clip of Henri Nouwen preaching (this is a short clip — 8 minutes and 55 seconds — well worth your time). His many books have been influential in my personal life and in my work as a pastor and therapist. Here we get a good sense of what...
by Rhett Smith | Apr 27, 2011 | Therapy Practice
Several weeks ago I was at The Hideaway Experience doing co-therapy along with another former ‘pastor’ turned therapist. It’s not unusual to find therapists and counselors who were former pastors, but I think that vocational movement is often looked...
by Rhett Smith | Mar 7, 2011 | Therapy Practice
Shame occurs when you haven’t been able to get away with the ‘who’ you want people to think you are. Carl Whitaker in Facing Shame: Families in Recovery by Merle Fossum and Marilyn Mason
by Rhett Smith | Nov 17, 2009 | Marriage
[image by soundlessfall] Earlier this summer I was contacted by Irving Bible Church in Las Colinas, TX to write an article on technology for their monthly magazine. After talking with the editor at length we eventually agreed upon a topic that we thought would be of...
by Rhett Smith | Oct 13, 2009 | Intentional Living
[image by Tamara Areshian] In my last post, When You Refuse To Take Care Of Yourself, You Are Refusing To Take Care Of Those Around You, I just briefly reflected on some comments by Rob Bell at the Catalyst Conference 2009 and how I felt they played into self-care....
by Rhett Smith | Oct 9, 2009 | Leadership
This caught my eye: Is there any way you’ve neglected to take care of yourself because of the allusion that you have to keep going all the time. You need to be fulfilled with energy and vitality so you can love what you do more than you did before. Have you been...
by Rhett Smith | Sep 28, 2009 | Marriage
[image by hikingartist] Chatter Magazine which is the great print/online monthly magazine for Irving Bible Church dedicated their October issue to technology. There are some really great articles in there like John Dyer’s Stop Bringing Your Bible to Church! My...
by Rhett Smith | Jul 6, 2009 | Technology
[image by LollyKnit] Identity in Christ One of the most crucial passages of scripture in the Bible in regards to our identity is Mark 1:9-14: “9, And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan. 10,...
by Rhett Smith | Mar 23, 2009 | Leadership
“The Quaker teacher Douglas Steere was fond of saying that the ancient human question ‘Who am I?’ leads inevitably to the equally important question, ‘Whose am I?’–for there is no selfhood outside of relationship. We must ask the...
by Rhett Smith | Mar 19, 2009 | Leadership
This post is an ongoing reflection on the book Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation by Parker Palmer. “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the...
by Rhett Smith | Mar 16, 2009 | Leadership
“Everything in the universe has a nature, which means limits as well as potentials, a truth well known by people who work daily with the things of the world. Making pottery, for example, involves more than telling the clay what to become. The clay presses back...
by Rhett Smith | Mar 11, 2009 | Leadership
“We arrive in this world with birthright gifts–then we spend the first half of our lives abandoning them or letting other disabuse us of them. As young people, we are surrounded by expectations that may have little to do with who we really are,...
by Rhett Smith | Mar 9, 2009 | Leadership
I have been returning time and time again to one of my favorite books on the topic of identity and vocation, Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation by Parker Palmer. I first read the book in 2002 when I was finishing up my M. Div. at Fuller...
by Rhett Smith | Sep 18, 2008 | Intentional Living
I’ve had a lot on my mind recently, and during that time I’ve been pretty convicted about several issues that I see interrelated. It originally arose because of my dismay at the real lack of boundaries in ministry and what affect that has on those caught...
