You know the drill. When retiring for the night, you have every aim that tomorrow you will carve out time to meet with Jesus. You envision an early morning summit alone with the Lord — Bible wide open — joined only by perhaps a helpful devotional book and a steaming mug of something hot. It…
Clear the Clutter and Give Your Heart a New Focus: Simply Content
We’re members of one of the most privileged societies in the world. So why do we yearn for more when we have so much already? I feel uncomfortable even writing about it because I’m still dripping in disobedience and greed. Tens of thousands of people every day die from hunger, yet we’re throwing out food we forgot about because we had so much other…
Joy in the Stillness
Be still, and know that I am God. — Psalm 46:10 (NIV) For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a high-energy, ambitious person. When I was a little girl, my idea of a great time was to start with an idea, create something with my hands, and follow it through to the end. I…
Jesus’ Favorite
I’m Looking at You, John My sister is the oldest of six grandchildren born to my maternal grandmother and grandfather, and she has a nickname for herself that has made us giggle for the last few years, mainly because it’s true. She started calling herself “#1” in high school, and was usually pretty quick to…
Books for a Flourishing Faith
Editor’s note: Don’t you just love books that lift you up? Books that encourage your heart? Books that plant new seeds for your faith? Check out some of the latest new releases in Christian publishing — books that will strengthen your walk with Jesus, offer you strategies to get through hard seasons, and build your foundation…
Beyond the Storm: Strategies to Keep Your Hope Alive
Editor’s note: We will face storms. But, how do we endure them well as Christians who hope in Jesus no matter the circumstances? After Hurricane Katrina, Pastor Debra Morton needed a playbook of faith for herself and for those she ministered to. Because pain happens. But we have a Savior who is the God of…
Go Ahead and Cry
Growing Tears I waited patiently for God to help me; then He listened and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out from the bog and the mire, and set my feet on a hard, firm path, and steadied me as I walked along. — Psalm 40:1-2 TLB As a…
Depression: The Lord is Close to the Brokenhearted
by Barbara Hunsaker, excerpted from Hopelifter: Creative Ways to Spread Hope When Life Hurts by Kathe Wunnenberg As a principal of a small Christian school, one phenomenon I saw from time to time was “cutting.” Students would cut themselves, not deeply enough to do permanent damage but enough to inflict pain and leave scars. I wondered why…
Jesus in Genesis?
The Lord God said to the serpent, ‘Because you have done this,… I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will crush your head, and you will strike His heel.’ — Genesis 3:14-15 In the opening moments of the movie The Passion of the Christ, there was…
Trusting God: The Year I Spent with My Head in the Clouds
I was performing a skit I wrote for a summer camp crowd of nearly three hundred students, ages twelve to eighteen, on a stage in a large room that resembled a log cabin nestled in the mountains of Colorado. Suddenly someone handed me an urgent message on a Post-it note asking me to call my…