You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. — Genesis 50:20 The story of Joseph in the Bible has always been one of my favorites. You can find the whole tale starting in Genesis 37:1. If you’re not familiar with…
The Fruit of Suffering and Grief
Peter: The Reluctant Sufferer I was talking to a group of about a hundred experienced pastors and church-growth leaders in a training seminar. The topic for the day was how to help people grow spiritually in ways that affect real life. I began by giving them a hypothetical problem to solve. “If you had to…
I Am Safe in the Lord
They will live in safety, and no one will make them afraid. — Ezekiel 34:28b I give them eternal life and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. — John 10:28 By the time he was five years old, my dad had discovered that the world is not safe.…
Dear Graduate
Editor’s Note: It’s almost graduation season 2020 and you’re going to need a gift for the graduates in your life! This year, in particular, we want to celebrate our graduates (ceremony or not) from all levels of schooling… junior high, high school, college, and graduate school. Three titles in eight beautiful covers will give you plenty…
The Rock, the Road, and the Rabbi: Beginning the Journey
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. — Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV Before I (Kathie Lee) began my new job as co-host of the fourth hour of The Today Show in 2008, I felt the Lord tugging at my spirit…
The Best Medicine
A happy heart is like good medicine. — Proverbs 17:22 ICB Whether you giggle, tee-hee, or guffaw, laughter is one language that everybody speaks. You don’t have to learn to laugh either. It’s a skill you’re born with. Babies start to laugh when they’re only about three months old — long before they learn to…
Why Love Is Worth Breaking Your Heart
To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. ~ C. S. Lewis “I’ve got more than sixty years of evidence that every day looks better with bacon.” My pork-raising dad’s a streak of confidence on the other end of the phone. “And…
Intend to Honor God in Your Home
Lessons I learned at home have shaped my life. Many of those principles were not taught with words; they were lived out in the context of daily routines. Looking back, I was the beneficiary of choices my parents made for themselves. I suspect none of us understood the full implications of what was unfolding in…
A Meal
A GOD WHO IS WITH YOU IN YOUR HUNGER One thing Jesus did in the Eucharist was to connect, in a vivid and simple way, eating with obedience and worship. He joined earth with heaven, bread with manna, flesh with Spirit. He linked physical hunger with spiritual hunger. He reminded us that every bite is…
Honesty Over Hiding
Don’t pretend. Cry. Scream. Break a few things if you need to. God is not afraid of your darkness. ~ Carlos A Rodriguez1 It was the middle of the night my sophomore year in college. The snow had been falling for a few hours — an unfriendly, cold Missouri January — but I was not…