Christians are a funny bunch. We have our own subculture, complete with terminology and social habits. Once we've been in the club long enough, we think all this stuff is normal, and we forget that our behavior might be scary to a new person -- perhaps most of all, our über-friendliness. Friendliness is scary? What? This idea would have sounded quite strange to me even a few years ago. Maybe you can relate. I've always gone to church. I've always been taught to be warm, friendly and inclusive. I can't count how many thousands of services I've sat through Continue Reading
Why You Should Leverage Your Regrets, not Deny Them
The third-grade student looked up sheepishly at his teacher after grading his own paper. Several red marks stood out on the page, silent accusers of his incompetency -- or so he feared. But the teacher's eyes brightened when she saw his paper. "Oh, you caught yourself!" she said. "Good job! Did you know that mistakes are valuable? You can learn from them and figure out what to do next time." A weight lifted from the boy's shoulders. He had caught himself! He had done a good job! Now he could figure out how to better solve the same problems next time. This is the power of regret. Continue Reading
How Your Suffering can Make the World Brighter
It's December 24th, 1944. An icy wind blows over the Vistula River in eastern Poland. A small group of German soldiers is camped out in an abandoned farm house. The Russians outnumber them twelve to one. Behind them wait cruel SS troops, ready to shoot deserters. Death looms on every side. Despite the cold, its stench pervades the atmosphere. Gerhard Link is not yet old enough to grow a beard. Forced to serve in Hitler's war machine, he has seen several comrades fall in battle. Hunger, fatigue, and fear are his constant companions. Tonight, he waits for more shells and Continue Reading
Your Secret Weapon for the Storms of Life
It was a dark and stormy night -- seriously -- years ago. Wind howled, rain drummed hard, branches scraped the roof, and little Danny woke up crying. My husband was going to have to go to work early. How to get my toddler back to sleep? In a flash of inspiration, I crept down the stairs and plugged in the colored lights on our Christmas tree, freshly decorated after Danny had been put to bed. Then I carried my fussing, squirming boy down to the living room. When he caught sight of that tree, an amazing thing happened: Fear vanished. Wonder took its place. Eyes wide, jaw dropped Continue Reading