"God bless them," "Bless your heart," "count your blessings," and "#blessings" abound as social platitudes, but what does it really mean to be blessed or to bless someone else? We all want material blessings, but perhaps spiritual blessings that only come from God are the most vital and important to ...
Contentment at Christmas
As the Christmas shopping season creeps closer to Halloween with each passing year, I'm reminded how advertisements, media, and companies prey on our inability to be content. For a nation overly concerned with happiness, it seems that we exist in a vicious cycle perpetuated by capitalism, which is ...
Top 15 Thanksgiving Bible Verses
As is customary on Thanksgiving Day, giving thanks for everything we have can be easy or hard depending on what's going on in our lives. If things are tough, it's often hard to give God our thanks; when things are going well, sometimes we forget to thank God, too. We praise God first because he ...
20 Unique Gifts for the Writers and Readers in Your Life
Buying a gift for someone is hard, but buying a gift for the writers and readers in your life doesn't have to be. Those of us who love reading (and writing) would rather be discussing ideas or jotting down poems crave gifts that speak to our souls. Call us bibliophiles, nerdy, wordy, or bookish, ...
When God Shows Up in Worship
One's conversion to Christianity often includes a dramatic overwhelming God-moment. Something incredible happens when the Holy Spirit breaks through and speaks to you directly. This type of encounter with God usually causes a change, or pivot, from doubt to belief. When God shows up, the ...
What Are the Pitfalls of Checklist Christianity?
When I became a Christian over twenty years ago, I wanted to know the best ways to fully engage with my new faith and become a devoted follower of Christ. While I grew up in Christian Science and attended church with my family regularly, I didn’t really understand that Christianity hinged on the ...