Preferring Mom's Apple Pie

When I was growing up, whenever we went out to dinner as a family, and the possibility of ordering dessert came up, my father would say to me, "Don't ...

Washington Monument Built on Perseverance

In 1836, the fledgling Washington National Monument Society announced they had chosen Robert Mills' plans for the soon-to-be-constructed monument ...

Don Moen Faces Tragedy

Thousands of Christians in North America sing Don Moen's praise song, God Will Make a Way, which affirms God's sovereign involvement in our lives. ...

"Cast Away": Living with Purpose

In the movie Cast Away, Chuck Noland, a FedEx systems troubleshooter, played by Tom Hanks, is stranded on a South Pacific island, the sole survivor of ...

"Field of Dreams": Choosing Priorities

Field of Dreams is a movie about baseball, pursuing a dream, and choosing life's priorities. Half way through the film, Ray Kinsella, played by Kevin ...

People Give to Hope

People give to achievement and promise and hope, not deficits.

World's Empty Promises

When I was a senior in high school, I was voted co-captain and most improved player on the basketball team. At the annual sports assembly I was called ...

Prison Cell: Picture of Advent

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, imprisoned by Hitler during World War II, writes to his fiance on one lesson learned from life in prison:

A prison cell, in which ...

Henri Nouwen Defines Christmas

Songs, good feelings, beautiful liturgies, nice presents, big dinners, and sweet words do not make Christmas. Christmas is saying yes to something beyond ...

Hope Beyond Earthly Life

When divers combed the wreckage of the Kursk (the destroyed Russian nuclear submarine on which 118 sailors perished), they found a letter written by Lt. ...