In 2014, Victoria Osteen made a statement that quickly hit the internet. “God wants you to be happy” she asserted. I remember rolling my eyes at her cheapened prosperity gospel. It’s not that God wants us to be miserable, but Scripture doesn’t support the idea that his chief aim is our happiness. The entire concept…
Christmas is the holiday for which we all know we should celebrate the “real meaning,” but many of us struggle to know how. The culture does a fabulous job of giving us ideas on how to make it more magical and fun. The culture also gives us full instructions on how we can spend more…
Sweat poured from my skin as I loaded the last bag into the cargo trailer attached to my car. After a relatively cool week at summer camp, I had spent the past forty minutes in ninety-plus degree heat, loading six people’s gear for our trip home. When the final bag was loaded, I sat in…
You know the scene—the one with harmful words. A character is talking about a boss, a coworker, or an acquaintance behind their back. Her intent isn’t good; her words are unkind. Yet she (or he) feels safe. The subject of this rant isn’t there and will never hear the words being spoken. She just needs…
Have you ever disqualified yourself? Maybe you benched yourself from some area of life because you’ve determined you’re too inexperienced, too lacking, or even too tainted by your past. You decided if others saw how poorly you made Pinterest recipes or knew what you’d done in college, they’d be in agreement with your permanent position…
“Are we there yet?” We are all no doubt familiar with this famous refrain from the backseat. When I was growing up, my family took tons of car trips. We drove long hours, stopping for picnics at rest stops. There was a well-planned route we followed just so because the destination, not the journey,…