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 […]

I stood at my kitchen sink as tears of frustration burst from my eyes. I was overstimulated, overtired, and overwhelmed. Between sobs I whispered, “I can’t do this anymore.” I was too weak to keep up with the never-ending stream of demands, no matter how simple they were. As the chaos continued around me, I […]

The emotional despair of rejection and loneliness can have us looking for love in all the wrong places, much like the oblivious heroine so often portrayed in movies. I watch in silent frustration as she strives to earn the love of some unworthy guy. As the trope goes, she is overlooking true love—the faithful affection […]

It’s Bible study night and you’ve been looking forward to meeting with women from your church to study the Bible together all week. But tonight, something shatters this peaceful evening of fellowship.  As you discuss your answers to a challenging application question, one of the women sighs and says that raising little children is a […]

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 […]