Six Ways to Defeat Loneliness at Christmas

Six Ways to Defeat Loneliness at Christmas

Three weeks before Christmas, Wolfgang Dircks died while watching television. His body wasn’t discovered until five years later. None of the neighbors in his apartment complex noticed the absence of the 43-year-old. His rent continued to be paid automatically out of...
The Best Gift You Can Give at Christmas

The Best Gift You Can Give at Christmas

I hardly noticed the old rancher sitting in the front row of the small Montana church where I was preaching a message on peacemaking, but he was about to make my day. My text that morning was taken from Matthew 5:23-24, which reads: So, if you are offering your gift...
10 Ways to Connect Deeply at Thanksgiving

10 Ways to Connect Deeply at Thanksgiving

Would you like to move beyond superficial conversation during your Thanksgiving gathering this year? Would you like to connect deeply with your family and friends and hear them share stories about the most meaningful people and events of their lives? If so, give each...
St. Augustine and I Share a Common Lust

St. Augustine and I Share a Common Lust

I share a lust with St. Augustine. Although he was a pillar of the church, he regularly prayed, “O Lord, deliver me from this lust of always vindicating myself.” We all inherited this lust from our original parents, who invented the art of excusing sin and justifying...
Seven Benefits of a Smile

Seven Benefits of a Smile

My daughter, Megan, was eighteen months old when she decided to test her smile on an angry looking biker. Just before a vacation in Jackson, Wyoming, she had learned what a fun response she could get from adults when she beamed a big smile and gave them an...