As I sit down to write this article I am reminded of the awesome honour of being a parent. God has granted me the privilege of raising three of His special little ones, but with the privilege comes great responsibility and a lot of hard work. Perhaps more than any other area of life, parenting brings with it the capacity both for boundless joy and...

  Do you want the strength to face life’s challenges? Take our free online study and learn how to stand up to your fears with strength and courage.   All my life, I’ve been told that I was beautiful - by my parents, my family, and my extended church family. Never once in my life had anyone that I loved and respected planted...

I’m excited to go to church. I’ve woken early, driven 45 minutes down the highway, and arrived at church with time to shake the greeters’ hands, make small talk in the foyer, and find a comfortable seat. How very spiritual of me. I listen to great worship music, engage with a thoughtful and informative speaker, and  leave with the five-hundred...

I’d been praying for a husband for a long time. In fact, I adapted Hannah’s request for a son in I Samuel 1:11 to my situation: "O LORD of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a [husband], then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his...

“Fill ‘er up.” “Yes, sir.” As a high school student, my first job was a mystifying experience. I was officially a gas emissions technician, but you would recognize me as the guy walking up to your car to fill your gas tank.  If you were really nice, I might have even washed your windows. “Hey, can you check the fluids?” What...

Sometimes we treat Jesus like a ‘spare tire’.  We take Him out of the trunk when we have a flat tire and run Him until the crisis is over but put Him back in the trunk afterwards. Or we can be treating Jesus like a hitchhiker. We let Him in the car with us but only let Him ride part of the way. Yet as our Lord and Savior, Jesus doesn’t want...

Have a specific prayer on your heart this Lent season? Share your requests with a mentor. For many of us, our churches have moved away from the more austere traditions of the past. Our pastors don’t wear suits.  Our worship teams have drummers and you can download a podcast of the sermon.   In many ways church has become more relaxed and...