Author: Jimmy Carter

Leading Through Healthy Boundaries

In the summer of 1999, my sweet wife (of just a few days) helped me pack up all our possessions into a few moving boxes and transition them into our first house. While I acquiesced most of the interior planning to Carrie, I staked my claim in the unfinished basement. However, where I had envisioned large screen TVs, ping-pong tables, and indoor golf studios, our friends and family envisioned free, climate-controlled storage. Within the first year, our spacious basement was filled with clutter from people that I didn’t have the courage to say “no” to. With all the junk that I had allowed into our home, it didn’t take long for pesky rodents to appear. Anytime the house would settle, or the ice-machine would crackle in the night, my wife and I would wake up in terror. At that point, I knew had I failed in one of the primary leadership responsibilities given to me by God. I had failed to establish healthy boundaries. Continue Reading →

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The Force of Habit: A Defense of Jay Adams’s Focus on Habituation

The word “habit” finds a prominent place in the origins of the biblical counseling movement. Jay Adams often spoke of habits, habituation, de-habituation, and re-habituation in his foundational works. In A Theology of Christian Counseling, Adams writes, “A way or manner of life is a habitual way of living. God gave man a marvelous capacity that we call habit. Whenever one does something long enough, it becomes part of him.”[1] Not only did Adams view habits as basic to human functioning, but he also viewed habits as central to biblical counseling. Continue Reading →

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