Gaining a heart of wisdom
What goals have you set for your spiritual formation this summer? Do you want to trust God's faithfulness more fully? Have you accumulated a pile of deeply challenging books to read? Maybe you've decided that you're sick and tired of feeling as if your prayer life needs work and are determined to focus on your… Continue reading Think Well | Why Is It Important for Me to Persevere in Clear Thinking?
Sunday Scripture Have you ever wished you could open the Bible and read it for the first time? What if you could hear the words with new ears and see them with new eyes? How would it feel to rediscover the words you've heard for so long that you've stopped hearing them, like the sock… Continue reading Is Meditation an Important Part of the Christian Life? | A Quick Tutorial
Sunday Scripture Captain Zsakhiem James has served on the police department in Camden, New Jersey for twenty-eight years. He laments the poor judgment and use of force that resulted in the death of George Floyd, and in an interview with World Magazine, he shared that "Camden's use of force policy has as its foundation 'sanctity… Continue reading What You Leave Out Is Just As Important As What You Put In
Parenting is a risky business. Like a high wire act without a net, we hang on to Truth, keep our balance, and trust for equilibrium, but, ultimately, our children are free to choose their own paths. We do not determine their spiritual direction or their response to God's claim on their lives. Nevertheless, wise parents… Continue reading Practical Steps for Nurturing a Vibrant Household of Faith
My son rolled his eyes in disdain as he vented his outrage. “Doesn’t she know she’s a grown up? There’s nothing cool about an old person trying to act like a kid!” Leave it to youth to give us the straight and unvarnished story. We’ve all witnessed the desperate measures of the middle-aged, stuck in… Continue reading Spiritual Formation at Mid-Life and Beyond
A writing project has sent me digging for old journals. Stashed away in a box under my bed, they are a record, in smudged pencil and inky scrawl, of where I've wandered and how God's faithfulness, found in the rearview mirror, has pulled me back on course every single time. Who in the world was… Continue reading Just Because You Feel Lost Doesn’t Mean You Are
If the statisticians are correct, and American adults really do get to make over 35 thousand choices every single day, I should be much better at choosing than I am. Maybe you feel this way as well, for rarely are our decisions simple and uncluttered. Like author and speaker Lucinda Secrest McDowell, we often find… Continue reading Accept the Challenge of Choosing What Matters Most
The phone rang, and it was bad timing, but I answered it anyway out of habit. A friend from church was looking for some very specific information, so the call was quick. We accomplished the purpose and the call ended. But the phone rang again. My friend had heard something in my voice, and she… Continue reading The Treasure Buried in Your Weakness
He said: "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." She said: "The deepest lessons come out the deepest waters and the hottest fires." And all the world still takes note, for Jim Elliot was a courageous missionary pioneer and martyr. Elisabeth Elliot was a superior… Continue reading Jim and Elisabeth Elliot: A Deep and Delighted Love
When D.A. Carson had the opportunity to interview two well-known and highly influential American theologians, he went straight to the core of their long ministries with this question: "You have not succumbed to eccentricity in doctrine, nor to individualistic empire-building. In God's good grace, what has been instrumental in preserving you in these areas?" Their… Continue reading How to Keep the Main Thing as the Main Thing
Living Our Days 