The Grace of Cold Water: Finding Comfort in Discomfort
Cold water has a strange kind of grace: it teaches us to meet discomfort without panic, to breathe instead of brace. Small, chosen stress can form resilience — body and soul — preparing us for heavier suffering we don’t get to schedule. In the chill, we practice surrender, learning that God is present not only in warmth and ease, but in the hard moments that deepen endurance and quietly grow fruit.
The Power Of Sign Language Bibles
For millions of Deaf readers, Scripture has often arrived as a closed door — text-heavy, audio-dependent, preached but not truly heard. That’s why sign language Bible translation matters: it meets people in their heart language, through expression and story. The Deaf Bible app gathers signed Scripture in one place, turning verses into living communication. For many, it’s not a tech novelty — it’s the first time the Word feels personal, clear and fully theirs.
Rooted in a Restless Age
Outrage feels like the air we breathe now — at meetings, online, even in church. We brace for defensiveness, settle into cynicism, and call it normal. But Paul says this restlessness has a root: life “in the flesh,” where neglect grows weeds fast. The Spirit offers another kind of cultivation — belonging, surrender and a steady step-by-step walk that forms real fruit in us.
Suffering and the Providence of God
Providence isn’t a theory meant for armchairs — it’s the difference between living landlocked in fear and living anchored in hope.
I Know What I Need to Be Doing
Every January, I come back to three risky prayers — because they invite Jesus to disagree with my plans. When I finally asked with real openness, one word surfaced: with. Then a face: my 89-year-old dad. The invitation was simple — Friday lunch — and it reshaped my year. The third answer surprised me too: silence, walking my neighborhood with God.
Rethinking New Year’s Resolutions
Bob Stephens’ elliptical has become a coat rack, which is honestly how most resolutions die — quietly, under the weight of real life. But he’s back at it, not to earn God’s favor, but to steward what he’s been given. That’s the shift. The new year invites a reset, but the gospel reminds us we’re already loved. So set goals, yes — measurable, humble ones — and let them serve your people, not your ego.
The Both-And of Self-Kindness: Why Loving Yourself Isn’t Selfish
Self-kindness, for A.C., began not as a trendy practice but as a terrifying assignment: speak to herself with the same gentleness she’d learned to offer everyone else. Slowly, Scripture and therapy together reframed kindness as part of bearing God’s image, not betraying it. Naming old, shaming messages and letting divine compassion seep into those bruised places became less self-indulgence and more quiet agreement with how God already loves her.
Your Many Siblings: God Could Not Be Satisfied with One Child
God wanted more than one Son. The Word became flesh so that the only begotten might become the first among many. Love moved him — not to multiply servants, but to multiply sons. The cross was his way to family, his means to glory. Christ our Brother, God our Father, and we, his children — justified, glorified, gathered home together.
Short-Term Missions: Their Value When Done Right
Short-term missions can be a holy gift — or a well-funded vacation with a paintbrush. What makes the difference is whether we actually love people enough to serve them wisely. Done right, we go invited, trained and humble, strengthening the local church instead of starring in our own story. Mercy matters. But so does meaning. We bring help — and we bring Jesus.
A Profound Forgiveness
Amanda Knox spent years wrongly imprisoned in Italy, vilified by the press, and haunted by the loss of her friend. Yet in 2022, she sat across from the prosecutor she once blamed and said, “I do not think you are an evil person.” Forgiveness didn’t erase her anger or pain, but it reframed her story. Grace became possible where bitterness had every right to stay.
The Speed of Soul
Harried sneaks in quiet — too many commitments, too little peace. It leaves us scattered, brittle, gasping for margin. But calm doesn’t just happen; it must be cultivated. That old man’s words still echo: find your center. Love deeply. Live quietly. Mind your own affairs. Work with your hands. An unhurried soul isn’t stumbled upon; it’s forged — slowly, intentionally, like wisdom cut through stone.
A Different Saint Film: ‘Triumph Of The Heart’
Most faith-based films avoid dwelling too long on real suffering, but “Triumph of the Heart” refuses to look away. The story of St. Maximilian Kolbe’s martyrdom under the Nazis immerses viewers in hunger, brutality and despair — yet also reveals compassion and dignity stronger than oppression. Its beauty lies in showing that a Christian’s hope can outlast the world’s darkest will.
Prayers of Hope For Peace Over Your Thoughts
Prayer changes things — especially us. When we bring our worries, regrets and need for control to Jesus, he doesn’t just listen — he leads. His peace moves in quietly, clearing out the noise, shifting our thoughts toward truth. The world may still be spinning, but deep inside, we’re anchored. That’s the power of communion with God. Not flashy, not loud. Just steady. Just holy. Just enough.
The Gift of Lament
Lament doesn’t chase away sorrow — it honors it. In the hush of a hospital room or the hush of a sanctuary, something sacred happens when we let grief speak. Not fix it. Not explain it. Just let it sing, like a melody half remembered that somehow still brings peace. God meets us there, and that meeting changes everything.
The Sabbath Saves Us from Achievement and Productivity
The Sabbath doesn’t shame us for burning out. It meets us there and offers something better. It exposes the lie that we are only as valuable as what we produce.
Miracles Happen in the Mundane
Jesus didn’t wait for a grand stage to hand out joy. He stood on a hillside — ordinary, unimpressive — and spoke the words that changed everything.
How To Calm Anxiety and Find Peace
Anxiety may feel constant, but peace is still possible. Real peace — the kind that holds up under pressure — comes when we fix our eyes on Jesus and lift our hearts in praise. From sunrise to sunset, God invites us to marvel at his goodness, to trust him with our burdens and to let worship become the rhythm that calms our soul and clears our anxious mind.
Sacred Rhythms: Harmonizing Work and Prayer
We’re called to hold work and prayer in healthy tension. Sabbath rest, spiritual practices and space for God aren’t luxuries. They’re the foundation for faithful, fruitful living.
When Memory Becomes Destination
The scent of almond blossoms stirs memory — of childhood barefoot in orchards, of both beauty and ache. Some moments return willingly, others resist. Yet in each, God’s presence threads through time. Even what we forget, he remembers. Our memories — blessing and burden — become places where the sacred and the familiar meet, calling us home to his love that transcends time, pain and even forgetting.
Bypass: Learn to Reroute To Avoid Stress
Stress can’t always be avoided, but peace can be pursued. Like a heart surgeon reroutes blood flow around a blockage, we can create pathways around stress.