In college, I studied William Shakespeare’s writing for a semester. The class required a giant textbook containing everything Shakespeare had ever written. The book weighed several pounds, and I had to carry it for hours at a time. Lugging that weight around caused my back to hurt, and it eventually broke a metal fastener on my bookbag! Some things are just too heavy for us to carry. Emotional baggage from past hurt, for example, can weigh us down with bitterness and hatred. But God wants us...

“Born again? What does that mean?” asked the funeral director. “I’ve never heard of that term before.” Grasping the opportunity, the son of the deceased father explained what it meant through the words of John chapter 3. “It comes down to the fact that we are all born once into this world,” he said. “God doesn’t have a magic scale where He weighs our good deeds against the bad. God requires us to be born of the Spirit,” he continued. “That’s why Jesus died on the cross—He paid for our sins...

Jeremy didn’t realize what he was getting into when he arrived at the university for his three-year course and asked for the cheapest dorm room available. “It was awful,” he recounted. “The room and its bathroom were terrible.” But he had little money and little choice. “All I could do,” he said, “was think, I have a nice home to go back to in three years’ time, so I’ll stick with this and make the most of my time here.” Jeremy’s story mirrors the everyday challenges of living in an “earthly...

Julie and Liz kayaked off the coast of California, scouting for humpback whales. Humpbacks are known for being active near the surface, making them easy to spot. The two women got the surprise of their lives when one surfaced directly underneath them. An onlooker caught footage of their encounter that showed the large mouth of the whale dwarfing the women and their kayaks. After briefly going underwater, the women escaped unharmed. Their experience offers perspective on the biblical account...

For years, the Horn of Africa has suffered from a brutal drought that devastated crops, killed livestock, and imperiled millions. Among the most vulnerable—like the people at Kenya’s Kahuma Refugee Camp who’ve fled from wars and oppression—it’s even more dire. A recent report described a young mother bringing her baby to camp officials. The infant suffered from severe malnutrition, leaving “her hair and skin . . . dry and brittle.” She wouldn’t smile and wouldn’t eat. Her tiny body was...

Making his preflight checks for a flight from Charlotte, North Carolina to New York City, a flight attendant noticed a passenger visibly anxious and concerned about flying. He sat in the aisle, held her hand, explained each step of the flight process, and reassured her that she was going to be fine. “When you get on an aircraft, it's not about us, it's about you,” he said. “And if you're not feeling good, I want to be there to say, ‘Hey, what's wrong? Is there something I can do?’ ” His...

In the worst UK residential fire since World War II, fire engulfed the twenty-four story Grenfell Tower building in West London, claiming the lives of seventy people. Investigations revealed a primary reason the flames spread so quickly was the cladding that covered the building’s exterior. The material was aluminum on the outside but had an extremely flammable plastic core. How was such a dangerous material allowed to be sold? The product’s sellers failed to disclose poor fire safety test...

Rising among the red mountains of Sedona, Arizona, is the beautiful Chapel of the Holy Cross. Entering the small chapel, I was immediately drawn to an unusual sculpture of Jesus on the cross. Instead of a traditional cross, Jesus is shown crucified on the branches of a tree with two trunks. A severed, dead trunk represents the tribes of Israel in the Old Testament that rejected God. The other trunk grows and branches out to symbolize the flourishing tribe of Judah and the family line of King...

In 1921, artist Sam Rodia began construction on his Watts Towers. Thirty-three years later seventeen sculptures rose as high as thirty meters over Los Angeles. Musician Jerry Garcia was dismissive of Rodia’s lifework. “That’s the payoff,” said Garcia. “That thing that exists after you’re dead.” Then he said, “Wow, that’s not it for me.” So what was the payoff for him? His bandmate Bob Weir summed up their philosophy: “In eternity, nothing will be remembered of you. So why not just have...

As the “voice of the Denver Nuggets,” team chaplain Kyle Speller is most known for his rip-roaring, public address announcing during the championship basketball club’s games. “Let’s go!” he thunders into the mic, and thousands of onsite NBA fans, as well as millions more watching or listening to the action, react to the voice that earned Speller nomination as the 2022 All-Star Game PA Announcer. “I know how to feel the crowd and kind of set that home court atmosphere,” he says. Still, every...

In J. R. R. Tolkien’s book The Fellowship of the Rings, Bilbo Baggins starts showing the effects of carrying, for six decades, a magical ring with dark powers. Weighed down by its slowly corrosive nature, he says to the wizard Gandalf, “Why, I feel all thin, sort of stretched, if you know what I mean: like butter that has been scraped over too much bread.” He decides to leave his home in search of rest, somewhere “in peace and quiet, without a lot of relatives prying around.” This aspect of...

The world was amazed when four siblings ages one to thirteen were found alive in Colombia’s Amazon jungle in June 2023. The siblings had survived forty days in the jungle after a plane crash, which killed their mother. The children, who were familiar with the jungle’s harsh terrain, hid from wild animals in tree trunks, collected water from streams and rain in bottles, and ate food such as cassava flour from the wreckage. They also knew which wild fruits and seeds were safe to eat. God...

Go at the speed of joy. The phrase dropped into my mind as I prayerfully considered the year ahead one morning, and it seemed apt. I had a propensity to overwork, which often sapped my joy. So, following this guidance, I committed to working at an enjoyable pace in the coming year, making space for friends and joyful activities. This plan worked . . . until March! Then I partnered with a university to oversee the trial of a course I’d been developing. With students to enroll and teaching to...

It was June 2016, Queen Elizabeth’s ninetieth birthday. From her carriage, the monarch waved to the crowds, passing in front of long lines of red-coated soldiers standing at perfect, unflinching attention. It was a warm day in England, and the guards were dressed in their traditional dark wool pants, wool jackets buttoned to the chin, and massive bear-fur hats. As the soldiers stood in rigid rows under the sun, one guard began to faint. Remarkably, he maintained his strict control and simply...

Als jüngstes von sechs Kindern litt Frances Ridely Havergal (1836-1879) in ihrer Kindheit unter großer Einsamkeit. Als ihre Mutter unerwartet starb, wurde ihr Herz als Elfjährige von weiteren Ängsten geplagt. Doch als sie als Jugendliche ihr Leben Jesus übergab, fand sie Trost in dem Wissen, dass sie nie wieder allein sein würde. „Von diesem Moment an schienen die Erde und der Himmel heller“, schrieb sie.

When my mom was in hospice and nearing her last days on earth, I was touched by the genuine kindness of a nursing home caregiver. After gently lifting my frail mother from her chair and tucking her into bed, the nursing assistant caressed Mom’s head while leaning over her to say, “You are so sweet.” Then she asked how I was doing. Her kindness moved me to tears then and still does today. Hers was a simple act of kindness, but it was just what I needed in that moment. It helped me to cope,...

Als meine Mutter im Hospiz war und sich ihren letzten Tagen auf Erden näherte, berührte mich die aufrichtige Freundlichkeit einer Pflegerin vor Ort. Nachdem sie meine gebrechliche Mutter behutsam aus dem Stuhl gehoben und ins Bett gelegt hatte, streichelte die Pflegerin meiner Mutter über den Kopf, beugte sich über sie und sagte: „Du bist so lieb.“ Dann fragte sie, wie es mir gehe. Ihre Freundlichkeit rührte mich damals zu Tränen und tut es noch heute.

Vielleicht hast du schon einmal eine Abwandlung dieses Sprichworts gehört: „Wenn du schnell gehen willst, geh allein. Aber wenn du weit gehen willst, geh zusammen.“ Das ist ein schöner Gedanke, nicht wahr? Aber gibt es solide Forschungsergebnisse, die uns versichern, dass diese Worte nicht nur schön, sondern auch wahr sind?

You may have seen or heard some variation of this saying: “If you want to go fast, go alone. But if you want to go far, go together.” It’s a lovely thought, isn’t it? But is there any solid research to reassure us that these words are not just lovely, but true? Yes! In fact, one such study by British and American researchers demonstrated that people estimated the size of mountains as significantly smaller if they were standing with someone else as opposed to when standing alone. In other...

Bei meinem morgendlichen Spaziergang bemerkte ich ein Fahrzeug, das in falscher Richtung auf der Straße stand. Die Fahrerin war sich der Gefahr für sich und andere nicht bewusst, da sie schlief und offensichtlich unter Alkoholeinfluss stand. Die Situation war gefährlich und ich musste handeln. Nachdem ich sie so weit wachgerüttelt hatte, dass sie auf der Beifahrerseite Platz nehmen konnte, fuhr ich sie an einen sicheren Ort.

On my morning walk, I noticed that a vehicle was stopped in the road headed in the wrong direction. The driver was unaware of the danger to herself and others because she was asleep and appeared to be under the influence of alcohol. The situation was perilous, and I had to act. After getting her alert enough to move her to the passenger side of the car so I could get into the driver’s seat, I drove her to a safe place. Physical danger isn’t the only harm we face. When Paul saw worldly-wise,...

Ich habe bei der Prüfung 84 Punkte erreicht!

I got an 84 on the test! I felt my teen’s excitement as I read her message on my phone. She’d just started attending classes at a high school and was using her phone during lunch. My mama heart leaped, not just because my daughter had done well on a challenging test, but because she was choosing to communicate it to me. She wanted to share her good news with me! Realizing that her text had made my day, I later thought about how God must feel when I reach out to Him. Is He as pleased as I...

„Gott war so gut zu uns! Ich möchte ihm für unseren Hochzeitstag danken.“ Tinas Stimme war fest und die Tränen in ihren Augen zeugten von ihrer Aufrichtigkeit. Die Teilnehmer unserer Kleingruppe waren tief bewegt. Wir wussten, was die letzten Jahre für Tina und ihren Mann bedeutet hatten. Robert litt an einer plötzlichen schweren psychischen Erkrankung und hatte die vierjährige Tochter getötet. Er wurde für Jahrzehnte in eine Anstalt eingewiesen, aber Tina besuchte ihn und Gott tat ein...

“God has been so good to us! I want to thank Him for our anniversary.” Terry’s voice was steady, and the tears in her eye showed her sincerity. Those in our small group were deeply moved. We knew what past years had held for Terry and her husband. Though a believer, Robert suffered from the sudden onset of severe mental illness and had taken the life of their four-year-old daughter. He would be institutionalized for decades, but Terry visited him, and God did a beautiful healing work, helping...