The smell of freshly baked gingerbread came from the kitchen and the lights on the tree glowed as I sat for a few minutes and enjoyed the moment. But it hasn’t always been this way. There was a time when I simply did not want to have Christmas at all. Just dragging the tree out and decorating the house left me feeling like my body was encased...

Not everyone will have a happy Thanksgiving…especially this year. Many are out of work, have issues relating to health, children and family.  Some are mourning a loved one, others are facing the holiday season as a divorcee for the first time.  What happens to thanksgiving and praise when peace disintegrates into chaos? I’ve been through...

As a child, I never imagined that one day, I would suffer from chronic pain. I was an active kid, a teen who loved physical activity. I thought I would remain healthy forever, but sometimes, life takes a detour. A few months after the birth of my third child, my right side started trembling whenever I made the slightest move. Inexplicable weakness,...

Alone and discouraged, I sat staring at a computer screen. I was frustrated by the way my life had turned out. I’d worked hard to hold onto remnants of hope for my marriage, but each day that summer I could feel it slipping through my fingers.  I felt so alone.  God was still there, I knew, but there was a longing for people who would talk back....

How important is control to you? What about self-control? Christ-followers are challenged to grow in self-control. How is this possible? In this study we will explore the value and necessity of self-control in our lives today. The Foundation for Self-Control How to Live a “Self-Controlled” Life Our Pattern for Self Control

“Volunteers. We need volunteers!” My pastor’s voice clapped with conviction. I sat in the back of the church and watched as the shuffle began. Young people got up from their seats, and took their places under signs that read: “Nursing Home,” “Hospital Visitation,” and “Coffee House.” My friend Alyssa and I made our way over...

Ruth and Paul Lindholm could not have met under less ostentatious circumstances. Her father, being a traveling pastor, Ruth’s family did not have a lot of money. So Ruth spent four summers working as a hired hand for Paul’s mother on the family farm in Minnesota. It was not long before the two teenagers caught sight of one another. “Paul and...