Gratitude And Optimism May Extend Your Life
Practicing gratitude and optimism might be more powerful than you think. Recent studies from Harvard show that these attitudes can contribute to a longer life, just like exercise or regular health checkups. For those of us navigating our later years, embracing a mindset of thankfulness and positivity could be as crucial as any prescription — helping to enhance not only our longevity but our quality of life as well.
Wonder: The Holy Art of Paying Attention
Wake up to wonder. Breathe in the beauty of creation as St. Francis did, and let nature’s simple marvels lead you to rediscover God’s presence in your life. From the majesty of a thunderstorm to the quiet grace of Communion, creation speaks of the Creator’s glory. Step outside, stand in the rain and let God’s handiwork take your breath away.
A Full Cup: The Importance of Soul Care
Soul care is not a one-time event. It’s allowing yourself to be filled so that you can pour into others. It’s creating rhythms and practices that keep you grounded in your faith.
Prison Drama ‘Sing Sing’ Captures Faith of the Formerly Incarcerated
Based on the real-life story of the maximum-security prison’s Rehabilitation Through the Arts program, founded in 1996, the film follows inmates who form a theater troupe while serving their sentences, processing their emotions through musical performances and acting.
Collect Prayer: An Ancient Form
Most basically, it invites us to call to mind what God has done in the past before we make our present petitions known. We remember before we request, and we look back on the faithfulness of God in the lives of others prior to welcoming the faithfulness of God in our own.
A Look Back In Time To Japan’s Forgotten 19th Century Martyrs
In the early 17th century, Christianity was put under a ban lasting two and a half centuries, and Japanese people were repeatedly forced to prove that they were not Christian by trampling on a “fumi-e,” an image of Jesus on the cross, or of Jesus and Mary. Those who refused to do so were tortured to renounce their faith or, if not, be killed, often in hideously cruel ways.
Julian of Norwich: A Medieval Mystic for Modern Times
The writings of Julian of Norwich, a 14th-century mystic often overlooked in mainstream Christian discourse, speak with surprising clarity and reassurance — and resonate across denominational lines to inspire and challenge believers and seekers alike.
Dangers of Reactive Thinking
We’re born ready-made with a predisposition toward the negative, which motivates us with an urgency the positive rarely equals. I think this is why religious leaders and politicians place so much emphasis on the negative, on fury and fear-mongering. They know what moves us. If they can scare us or make us angry — fear and fury are twins — they can push us wherever they want us to go.
Grappling With the Trouble
By learning to write our own psalms, we gain a new tool for our faith-life tool bags. Writing mine allowed me to notice and give voice to my fears, hopes and gratitude.
The Dangers of Lingering Unkindness
My first instinct is to defend, reject and explain. I can feel the wrestling match begin within me, shame feeling like a too-heavy blanket pressing on my chest. Was I unkind? Yeah, and no one deserves unkindness. I am disappointed in myself and sad. I have had a close relationship with shame, and I can feel her slinking close.
Let Love Be Wild Within You
Let love be wild within you. Let it loose. You have it now. Feel it, for I am here. I have no boundaries, no exit strategy. I am not fickle. My love does not change its mind about you. I am fully engrossed in my love for you.
Fixed-Hour Prayer: A Different Way to Pray
In any form of prayer, there is an upward dimension of communing with God. When we pray, we “seek to communicate with the Eternal One, speaking words of adoration, confession, thanksgiving and supplication.” This is no different in fixed-hour prayer, and I would argue that in some ways, the upward dimension is enhanced by the practice.
Anxiety Can Lead You to God ... Or Away
Anxiety can be the very thing that cripples us and forces us to try to lean on our own understanding of whatever we’re anxious about. But God also has purpose in it. I wonder whether our problem is less about anxiety and more about what we do with it. Let’s consider anxiety as a doorway into intimacy with the Father.
What I Want To Tell My Grandkids
Some years ago, I decided to write a book I’d call something like, “Things I Want to My Grandkids to Know.” I’d self-publish it and provide a copy to each of the kids. I started writing it with a lot of energy, then gradually let it peter out, and then … totally forgot about it. Recently, I happened across my notes, dated 2016. I liked what I’d said. I even added new observations.
How to Trust Our Own Hearts
There are memories here on this wood floor and others through the years. While I know we can hear God anywhere, in all circumstances and places — for he is who he is — I feel an emotional and mental pulling inward when I physically get low. I draw inward, inside myself and become aware of my heart’s connection with God.
Walter Brueggemann: Prophet of the Written Word
Few names resonate as profoundly in the realm of biblical scholarship as Walter Brueggemann. A towering figure in Old Testament studies, Brueggemann has spent decades challenging, inspiring, and reshaping how Christians engage with Scripture. But who is this man, and why should his work matter to people of faith today?
Worship: Encountering the Person of God
Perhaps all of us would agree that worship must be directed to God alone, for nothing else is worthy of worship. But this simple, obvious idea has far-reaching implications that we may not fully realize. To draw out these implications, we begin with an analysis of our present practice, followed by an attempt to refine the concept of worship and conclude with some suggestions for improving our worship.
Marvin Olasky’s Books For August
One of the many things I learned from Tim Keller is that Jesus does not make a problem go away: He makes it not so important. For Christians who are dying, the anticipation of good things to come can overwhelm the bad thing that’s happening. Sometimes we pray for a physical healing and it miraculously happens, but we might also pray that hope exceeds hurt.
The End We Know
Life brings about chaos, and it's easy to get caught up in the overwhelm of it all. But there's a simple reassurance worth remembering: ‘You know this is all going to be okay, don’t you?’
Encouragement: Heartening Others as a Ministry
I don’t remember deciding I would develop a ministry of encouragement, but I do remember well the beginning of my understanding of what it meant to be encouraged. It is a memory that goes back to a rocking chair my grandmother had in her kitchen on a farm in Tennessee, a rocker I still have in my own home. I remember sitting in her lap as she rocked me many times for several years until I was old enough that my feet dragged the floor.