A friend and I squeezed in one precious hour together the week after Christmas last year. They had gotten a bouncy house that fit perfectly in their garage—an ideal gift for all our energetic children. While the big ones bounced and the babies snacked, my friend and I dove deep. What have you been reflecting […]

This article is adapted from Kristen Wetherell’s new book, Help for the Hungry Soul.   Why Don’t I Read My Bible? You know the scenario: you’re reading through a Bible passage, only to find your thoughts wandering to that work project you have to finish or that recent debate you heard online (which causes you […]

I sat on the edge of my seat, listening to the youth conference speaker describe the new Christian life. The night before, while the band played an emotional song about trusting Jesus, the speaker had invited students to come forward to “give their lives to Jesus.” This morning, in a room full of sweaty teens […]

At 8:45 pm on a quiet Sunday night, I noticed my nine-year-old son’s shadow appear in the dark hallway while I folded laundry and watched television. He approached me, sniffling with his head hung low. His tears alerted me. Did something scare him while he was in bed for the night? Pulling him close, I […]

Most of us haven’t faced the temptation to bow to a golden image. I grew up taking the first and second commandments, “You shall have no other gods before me” and “You shall not make for yourself a carved image” (Ex. 20:3–4), for granted. Like every good Sunday school classroom in the ‘90s, diagrams and […]