The Green Zone
How can your life become a “green zone”? By Ray Woolridge When I served in the Army deployed in the Middle East, the only “green zone” was near the US Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. It may have been the most protected zone in the city, but green it was not. The “green zones” I think […]
From Brokenness To Relational Wholeness
By Rebecca Caputo When I was handed a little green book several years ago, I didn’t for a moment expect it to rock the foundation of my beliefs or my life. In my early 40’s I read, “Living From the Heart Jesus Gave You” by Dr. Jim Wilder et al and it changed, well, literally […]
Dusty Disciples
By Ed Khouri Dear Life Model Community, It’s a joy to be covered in dust with you! Let me explain. In biblical times, many rabbis and teachers had followers. The Gospels report huge crowds listened toJesus teach. Multitudes traveled long distances, hoping for a miracle and eagerly awaiting His words. Butthen, as now, there was […]
Finding peace in disaster
What disaster are you facing today? We have all been shaken by news of another war and the painful images of displaced people fleeing for their lives. While you may not be facing a disaster today, know this: the time to prepare for disaster is BEFORE it happens. This is true for every human being: […]
An Immanuel Healing Story
by Michael Sullivant, Director of Relational Networks, Life Model Works Nothing moves my heart of love toward God more than discovering that He knew me, cared for me and reached out for me many times, long before I was fully ready to put my trust in and follow Jesus Christ as the Lord of my […]
The Difference Between Appreciation & Gratitude
While working on a writing project I was asked, “Why don’t you use the word gratitude instead of appreciation?” The person asking is a fan of the Joyful Journey book and the interactive gratitude process taught in it, as am I. At first, I thought, “why not?” Everyone is on the gratitude craze right now… Ann Voskamp, […]
Living from Your Heart Rather Than Your Hurts
What’s the difference between living from your heart – and living from your hurts? Dr. Jim Wilder is the author of Living From The Heart Jesus Gave You. He helps us understand the difference between living from your heart and living from your hurts. “Living from your hurt means that you are looking at your life according to what you need to […]
What's Missing? The Immanuel Lifestyle!
Last weekend I attended the Annual Gathering of folks who love Life Model Works. The focus was Living an Immanuel Lifestyle. I heard two speakers, both heads of ministries, say, “I was missing something in my relationship with Christ–and what I was missing was the relationship.” We spent the next two days looking at this […]
F.A.Q.'s About the Life Model – Part 2
Dr. Jim Wilder frequently receives questions about The Life Model. Michael Sullivant, a pastor and proponent of the Life Model, has collaborated with Dr. Wilder to answer some of these frequently asked questions which we now present to you in this new Blog series. F.A.Q. #2 – How can we attribute “God’s words” to human […]
The Word…Moved into the Neighborhood
“The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.” (John 1:14, The Message) My step-Dad has a beautiful picture book about Jesus’ life called He Was One of Us by artist Rien Poortvliet. I can stare at the faces for hours, paging through scenes of Mary, Nicodemus, Peter, the woman caught in adultery, and the crowds […]
Side Effects of a Relationship with Jesus
Back in 2007 when I first made my Facebook profile, I distinctly remember pausing a bit when I saw the “religion” options. I scrolled through them and felt like I didn’t really fit into any of those neat little categories anymore. I’m pretty sure I settled on “Christian/other” and then in the About Me section […]
Turning On Your V-C-R
Last week I had an incident that caused some emotional pain and I wasn’t sure if I was triggered or not. The gist was that I felt accused for something I did not have in my heart, and it hurt. Most of the time, I tend to think of these kinds of painful bumps as […]
Adoration: Living Life Aware of Immanuel's Presence
Through our 40+ years of church leadership, Terri and I never felt as though we “fully fit” into the spiritual cultures into which we entered. We adapted ourselves to serve them and sought with all our hearts to help them and our beloved fellow leaders to be successful in our stated visions and missions. In […]
5 Steps to Talking with God on the Good Days
“I don’t want to talk about you, like you’re not in the room… I want to look right at you, I want to sing right to you”. When the worship leader sang these words, everything changed for me. I realized that there have been many times when I “prayed” that I wasn’t aware that God […]
Developing Presence
Driving on a Florida two-lane road recently, I got behind someone behaving erratically. The car was swerving from one side of the lane to the other. Not maintaining the speed limit, a line of traffic had build up behind this car. Every once in awhile there would be a tap of the brakes for no […]
Getting People onto Peace Island
After spending a fantastic week in Kansas City with joy starters from around the country, it was time to go home. As Jim W. taught us, back to LA, my “dirt.” My friend, Mike, and I are ready to board the plane when I received a text from my wife. A husband and father of […]
Joy-Plants Becoming an Invasive Species
On the bottom of my website, you will find a statement about my Life Coaching that says I “utilize philosophies from Life Model Works”. You will also discover the concepts of joy and relational skills woven through my entire business. Every client I meet with, every group I run- I am implementing, practicing, and teaching […]
What to Do When You are Upset and Alone
All of us have experienced events that caused us pain. All of us will continue to experience difficulties. The good news is that we don’t have to stay in that place that allows the traumatic event to continually affect us. Jesus has provided a way out—He Himself and His presence are the way out and […]
How I Went from "Cradle Christian" to "Woe is Me"
I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” (Isaiah 6:5) I feel like I’m going through a mini version of what happened to Isaiah when he saw God […]
Interactive Gratitude: When God feels far away
Knowing that Immanuel is the “God who is with us” has impacted my life more than anything else. The knowledge that He is with me has given me the permission to interact with Him instead of just “thinking” about Him as a far off and distant watcher. The conversations that I get to have with […]