Dear Resilient Warrior Friends, Never in my lifetime has Resilience God Style been more relevant. Our beloved America is beset by a health pandemic, an associated economic pandemic, and a cultural/moral pandemic. Gratefully, God is ever present in the midst of …
Resilience Blog
Fellow Resilient Warrior, Our last newsletter, entitled “Don’t Stuff It!” was devoted to mourning loss and grieving well. Although this topic is pretty heavy, it also proved very relevant to the many who are navigating loss during these days of COVID19. This …
by Bob Dees What did this process of bouncing back…look like for Allen Clark, Vietnam Veteran, successful banker, distinguished leader in the Department of Veterans Affairs, founder of the Combat Faith ministry to veterans, and author of Wounded Soldier, Healing …
"I need to trust in the goodness of God."
Fellow Tennis Ball, Please excuse my calling you a tennis ball, but many of you recognize the Resilience God Style signature question: Are you a tennis ball or an egg? Rather than fragile and fractured … it is far better …
by Bob Dees Let’s face it – we have all lost something in this COVID19 pandemic! Maybe a job, a loved one or friend, a business opportunity, a graduation or prom event, a wedding, the opportunity to say a final …
Fellow Corona Virus Navigator, Last week our feature article focused on the unglamorous topic of PERSEVERANCE. Actually, many of you felt it was very relevant. How do we “keep on keeping on.” In Paul’s word, how do we “press toward …
by Bob Dees I asked the packed church service in California “Are you a leader?” A few businessmen, city officials, and the pastor held up their hands. “I’m sorry, maybe some of you didn’t hear the question,” I responded. “Are …
Fellow Corona Virus Navigator, Last week our feature article “No Man is an Island” discussed the importance of FRIENDS in living a resilient life, in navigating crisis. I suspect that most of us have come to a greater appreciation of …
by Bob Dees As I was rolling up my parachute, the elderly Dutch woman grabbed me by the knees in a tight hug. With a translator, we learned her agitated words meant “We saw you coming. The eagle from the …
Fellow Corona Virus Navigator, Last week our feature article discussed “The Hope Diamond.” No doubt we agree that Hope is essential to life, whether it be vital optimism related to one’s future on earth or the ultimate Hope of eternal …
We don’t develop “911 Friends” overnight -- it takes time to develop these deep relationships of trust, confidence, and comfort; but it is essential to resilient living.
by Bob Dees John Donne, a sixteeth century English poet who was well acquainted with grief, suffering, and resilience; penned these famous words “No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a …
Fellow Corona Virus Navigator, Last week our feature article discussed “Springtime in America.” Since then our government has published a plan for keeping the virus under wraps while jump starting the American economy. As I mentioned, a plan provides HOPE… …
by Bob Dees I would often stand in front of weary and pressed Ranger students after a few weeks of excruciating training. “OK, Men… you are starting to look different. I think I’m starting to see a little shine. A …
Fellow Corona Virus Navigator, Belated Easter greetings — He is Risen, He is Risen Indeed! I hope you remain healthy in body, mind, and spirit during this Winter of COVID19. I say Winter because of the many CV19 deaths, illnesses, …
What is your favorite part of Spring? Maybe the return of birds who chirp their distinctive songs as they flit about the freshness of new growth? Or perhaps the green shoots that appear under the melting snow? Possibly for you …
Fellow Corona Virus Navigator, Navigation Makes A Difference! While on a fishing trip with good friends, we were caught in a vice grip between two tropical storms, twenty miles offshore. The result could have been catastrophic. The picture below shows …
We had just lost our first child. In her initial anguish, Kathleen asked me to protect her from many well-meaning sympathizers, including her loving yet sometimes smothering mother. As a young, inexperienced husband I heartily carried out her wishes, no …
Fellow Corona Virus Captive, Last week’s message regarding COURAGE resounded with many of you. Applying one definition of courage to our shared challenge: “Courage in the face of Corona Virus is holding on “one month” longer… and then another month… …
“It was a cold Sunday morning with over a foot of newly fallen snow. We were in a classroom setting for a short burst of instruction before taking to the ice covered hills yet once again. In recent days many …
Fellow Corona Virus Navigator, I was born on “Ground Hog Day” — February 2d. Watching “Ground Hog Day” with Bill Murray has become a birthday tradition. Those familiar with the movie will know that a news reporter relives the same …
Fellow Corona Virus Navigator, In an earlier edition we showed a picture of our boat radar feed which enabled us to “thread the needle” between huge storms at sea, illustrating that “Navigation Makes a Difference.” So it is with our …
“At intervals between a bomb falling it sounded like church:voices from nearby slit trenches all chanting the Lord’s prayer together– over and over again. Louder when the bombs hit closer.” ~Veteran Army Air Force Bombadier and Olympic Runner Louie Zamperini,recounting …
Tribulation comes in all forms. I often say the bookends of tribulation resemble a hurricane or a tornado. At present in America, we have both. The Corona Virus (CV) hurricane is pushing destruction to the shores of America, combined with …
Fellow Traveler, Prayerfully, you are having a great week. Two weeks ago we addressed “The Expectation Trap,” recognizing that expectations are one of the key sources of stress in our lives. We saw that dealing properly with expectations is key …
Taking It One Day At A Time. For the Scripture says, “Whoever trusts in Him will not be put to shame.” Romans 10:11 TLV
Fellow Traveler, I went to a “Celebration of Life” this week — a joyful remembrance of a great man, a faithful husband and father, an exuberant grandfather, and a beloved military leader and public servant. While there were plenty of …
We noticed the very attractive and distinguished older couple facing toward us from their table at the small restaurant in Gerrards Cross, England. Kathleen and I were new to town, just having moved to England to attend the Royal College …
Dear Resilient Traveler, Welcome to another week in the rest of our lives! May we press hard into Jesus, acknowledging Him in ALL of our ways, and confident that He will direct our paths. My resilience music this week includes …
No doubt we all have different pictures of FREEDOM in our minds. Basically, Freedom is the absence of captivity. Perhaps you think of captives in prison who are “freed.” Or maybe someone in bondage to an addiction who is able …
Dear Resilient Traveler, Prayerfully you had a great week of “Waiting on the Lord.” Our feature article last week — “Are We There Yet?” — seemed to be relevant to many, me included! Certainly most of us find it difficult …
We live in an “Age of Offense.” While taking offense has always been part of our human DNA, today’s culture (including many of us) has placed narrowly defined personal “rights” and interests on an unprecedented pedestal. This self-interest idolatry is …
Dear Resilient Traveler, Welcome to another week of resilient living – God Style! As a long-standing birthday tradition on February 2d, I watched the movie “Ground Hog Day,” a 1993 American fantasy comedy which stars Bill Murray as Phil Connors, …
How many times have you been on a long drive with family when the familiar refrain from the backseat echoes: “Are We There Yet?” I have probably heard this hundreds of times as a parent, but also from my own …
When I wrote Resilient Warriors in 2011, the word “resilience” was not widely used. Today, the word is pervasive, applied to everything from cyber security to climate change to electric grids to recovery from disasters to a wide range of …
I’ve heard many an elderly person reflect that “aging is not for the weak or faint hearted.” As one who just had another “zero” birthday moving into a new decade of life, I am starting to identify with that sentiment. …
As we mentioned last time, God’s Word contains four primary analogies which help us understand Biblical principles. These analogies are farming, fishing, athletics, and the military. In addition, the overarching analogy which illustrates the cycles of life is Creation itself …
Dusk is closing in over the small pond. Creeping along the bank I gently toss my “Jitterbug” (a wiggly top-water fishing lure that causes fish to crest the water’s surface to capture the tantalizing bait) amid the reeds in shallow …
Dear Resilient Traveler, God’s Word contains four primary analogies which help us understand Biblical principles. These analogies are farming, fishing, athletics, and the military. In addition, the overarching analogy which illustrates the cycles of life is Creation itself — squirrels …
Every farmer knows you need to plant to produce a harvest. Investment precedes return. Start with the smallest of seeds to grow the biggest of plants. Plant in the Spring, harvest in the Fall. We must sow if we are …
Dear Resilient Traveler, If you are like me, you are still “getting your act together” for 2020. Despite the best of intentions, I still need to think and pray through the coming year. This includes establishing New Year Resolutions — …
At the famous Battle of the Alamo in 1836, Colonel William Barrett Travis drew a “Line in the Sand,” stating “those prepared to give their lives in freedom’s cause, come over to me!” This “line in the sand” became the …
Happy New Year. Isn’t it nice to be able to RESTART your phone or computer periodically? This “cleanse” purges unneeded backup files, self corrects anything slowing down the operating system, and basically heals most problems your device may have. You …
In the introduction to Mid-Course Correction, Gordon MacDonald discusses a characteristic called “vital optimism” which at its very heart is simply hope. MacDonald highlights John Keegan’s The First World War sobering discussion of the British battle of the Somme where …
Fellow Resilient Warrior. This is our last edition before we celebrate Christmas 2019 and New Year 2020. This edition’s feature article, entitled “Resilient JOY,” will address the dilemmas we all face at Christmas. Perhaps it is a blessed time of …
Have you ever had a lonely Christmas? Has your Christmas meal been laced with tension, bitterness, and anger? Or has your economic situation negated your ability to even provide modest presents for those you love? Is this the time which …
Dear Fellow Resilience Warrior. In case you are looking around for a “Warrior,” that is YOU! We are all warriors — whether wearing the cloth of our nation in harm’s way, or perhaps a mom with three in diapers, or …
The game was close — middle of the 4th Quarter — the high school football teams were tied — one of my teen grandsons was in the game. Our team runs a wide sweep with a jarring tackle near their …
Prayerfully you had a great Thanksgiving as you practiced being “Grateful for Grace” (referring to last week’s edition). Now we enter the period called “Advent,” a time of waiting for the celebration of Christ’s birth and the anticipation of Christ’s …
