Surrounded by friends, family members, and acquaintances, you plaster a smile on your face to cover up the sadness. A conversation is going on, but you're not listening. You begin to wonder who you really are. Emotions well up; anxiety builds. You're friendly, polite, appear happy and content, but inside you're drowning. Have you ever [...]

Don't be afraid,” I tell myself. “Don't have those irrational fears.” Don't be scared of bugs, heights, crowds; eliminate those phobias. When I was feeling happy, hopeful, surrounded by friends, “Do not be afraid” sounded so simple and easy. But beyond the phobias is a fear deep inside I don't understand. The fear that keeps [...]

I'm fifty-four years old, and one thing I wish I'd known about God when I was a teenager is that He doesn't expect us to be perfect. As a teen, I attempted over and over again to do what God said in the Bible. But no matter how hard I tried, I kept failing. I [...]

One of my favorite Bible verses is Romans 8:38-39 because it says we are inseparable from the love of God. That's a powerful statement. Few things in this shattered, divided world are inseparable. Friends lose touch with each other, separated by time or distance or disagreement. Families drift apart. Human love isn't always strong enough [...]

Caymen opened his sack and rummaged through the contents. “I have everything I need.” He breathed deep of the green pasture where he'd spent the night. The melodious water of the creek beckoned again, and he drank, refreshed. Caymen saw the morning sun break over the horizon and continued his journey. Hours later, Caymen slowed [...]

Many of us are familiar with Jesus' Great Commission to His disciples in Matthew 28:19-20, telling us to go and make disciples of all nations. I love these Bible verses, and so does the church as a whole. We've emblazoned them on laptop stickers and bracelets. Serving others is a trendy thing to do. But [...]

Your friends are the loveliest people you know: kindhearted, considerate, and nonjudgmental and they're atheists. So, what happens when you're the only Christian in your circle of friends? There are typically a few ways this can play out: 1. You don't tell them you're a Christian. There are moments when it seems awkward or even [...]

Have you ever walked in your sleep? I have. My one and only time sleepwalking was at summer camp when my camp counselor led my cabin on a hike and overnight campout. My cabinmates and I hiked uphill through on-again, off-again drizzly rain for what felt like hours before we reached our camping spot. Around [...]

We often think of the Old Testament as dull and dry. Some parts are filled with stories that are familiar to some of us, like Noah's ark. But the rest of the Old Testament eh, not so much. A lot of us don't like to read the books of the prophets because many of them [...]

I know that God hears me every time I pray, but does He answer me in the way I want or expect? Not always, but I know He hears me just the same. I am comforted when I remember God knows what's best for me. He hears my prayers. He knows what's on my heart [...]