What U.S. adults say is their idea of the American Dream:

• Free to accomplish anything: 74 percent
• Free to say/do what they want: 68 percent
• Children financially better-off: 64 percent
• Being financially secure: 61 percent

God has made [our] fantasies … so preposterously unrewarding that we are forced to turn to him for help and for mercy. We seek wealth and find we've accumulated worthless pieces of paper. We seek security and find we've acquired the means to blow ourselves and our little earth to smithereens. We seek carnal indulgence only to find ourselves involved in the prevailing erotomania.

—Malcolm ...

In The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien writes about a kingdom called Gondor which for many years has had no king. While waiting for the rightful heir to come and claim his throne, a series of stewards has been placed in charge of the land. The steward in charge at the time of the events described in the book is named Denethor. He has two sons, Boromir and Faramir, both of whom figure prominently in the ...

In his book The Prodigal God, best-selling author and pastor Timothy Keller offers the following story to illustrate self-centered giving:

Once upon a time there was a gardener who grew an enormous carrot. So he took it to his king and said, "My Lord, this is the greatest carrot I've ever grown or ever will grow. Therefore I want to present it to you as a token of my love and respect for you." The ...

Many years ago, our family lived in Memphis. One day our 16-year-old son was reading the local paper and saw that a movie about Elvis Presley was going to be filmed at Graceland. The film company was looking for extras, and our son desperately wanted to volunteer. So I took him to the sign-up area on the specified day. Since he was a minor, I had to sign my name on a form, giving permission for him ...

I want to die the same way Wilson Bentley died.

Wilson grew up on a farm in Jericho, Vermont, and as a young boy he developed a fascination with snowflakes. Obsession might be a better word for it. Most people go indoors during snowstorms. Not Wilson. He would run outside when the flakes started falling, catch them on black velvet, look at them under a microscope, and take photographs of them before ...

A nation-wide Harris Poll of 1,010 U.S. adults indicates most people feel jobs that are heroic, helpful, or both, hold the most prestige. The occupations at the top of the list are:

• Firefighter (57 percent)
• Scientist (56 percent)
• Doctor (53 percent)
• Nurse (52 percent)
• Teacher (52 percent)

• Banker (15 percent)
• Accountant (15 percent)
• Actor (15 percent)

A fascinating study done by Professor Vicki Medvec reveals the relative importance of subjective attitudes over and above objective circumstances. Medvec studied Olympic medalists and discovered that bronze medalists were quantifiably happier than silver medalists. Here's why: Silver medalists tended to focus on how close they came to winning gold, so they weren't satisfied with silver; broze medalists ...

The movie Love's Unfolding Dream is based upon a series of books by Janet Oke. In this scene Belinda (Scout Taylor-Compton), an aspiring doctor in the little Western town of Anderson's Corner, is caring for Ms. Stanfordsmythe, a wealthy stroke victim from Boston, Massachusetts. Belinda is unaware that Ms. Stanfordsmythe lost both of her children to death, and Ms. Standfordsmythe is unaware that Belinda ...

I had accepted the call as senior pastor of a large congregation that had recently erected a huge, state-of-the-art building resulting in major debt. Feeling the pressures of my new responsibility—and with a strong desire to impress my parishioners—I hit the ground running. I was in the office early every day, and almost every evening I was out shepherding the flock or reaching out to ...