“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”  

—1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (ɴɪᴠ)

As a devoted parent, you already take full advantage of “teachable moments.” You know the idea:  

• Walking in the woods and seeing poison ivy is when you teach about poison ivy. (“Leaflets three, let it be.”)

We teach dogs to fetch and roll over…but dogs can teach us some even greater tricks for life. Discover what one little dog named Mojo taught her family in this fun and insightful interview with bestselling author Phil Callaway. (You’ll also learn what Phil thinks about whether or not dogs go to heaven!) 

The second coming, which encompasses both the rapture and the glorious appearing, is one of the most significant events mentioned in the entire Bible. Conservative evangelical commentators agree that there will be a rapture. The only real question is, when will it occur? 

The New Testament picture of our Lord’s return emphasizes at least six distinct aspects of the time of His coming.

When someone hurts us, what should our response be?

Forgiveness? Yes. Reconciliation? Maybe.

Reconciliation after an offense is wonderful. In fact, reconciliation is the ideal. But forgiveness and reconciliation are not the same. In fact, their differences are many:

1. Forgiveness can take place with only one person; reconciliation requires the involvement of at least two persons.

2. Forgiveness is directed one way; reconciliation is reciprocal, occurring two ways.

Novelists usually fall into two categories: “pantsers” and “plotters.”  Pantsers, so known because they write by the seat of their pants, construct stories as they go. Plotters are the opposite, carefully laying out their intentions—whether in casual summary form or structured outline—before launching into the actual writing of the manuscript. 

I used to be a pantser—until about ten years ago, that is, when the unthinkable happened.  

Even though there has been much talk, study, and intrigue about the whereabouts of the Ark, its location is still unknown. 

Much has been written about the Ark being in Ethiopia. That rumor says that when the Queen of Sheba visited King Solomon around 1000 ʙ.ᴄ., Solomon was so infatuated with the queen that he gave her the Ark to take back home.

Moms spend so much time caring for others that it’s easy for them to forget about themselves. Sometimes a mom just needs a simple reminder to pause, be refreshed, and enjoy life. (Can we get an “amen”?) 

When I drive out of my housing development, whether I turn right or left, I pass an Amish school. The little white buildings sit quietly except for during recess, when the yards teem with boys in hats and girls in scarves running around everywhere.

I wonder often about questing minds among these playing kids, kids whose education will be limited to the eighth grade.

I had been swimming in my mommy guilt for days. I could see it in my daughter’s beautiful blue eyes. I had messed up. 

I apologized of course, but the wound would take longer to heal than my quickly offered “I’m so sorry, baby.” So we slowly danced, she and I, with our still-swirling emotions. 

Out of curiosity and a need for some companionship in the area, I started a conversation on Facebook about the struggle of mommy guilt. Later that day, a sweet mom messaged me privately telling of her own pain in this area. Her story began with “I should have known better,” and ended with “I’m a better mom today,” but in the middle of those two very normal statements she waded through an ocean of guilt.  My heart physically hurt for her. 

Daniel 9:24-27 is one of the most important prophetic sections in the Bible. This passage is the indispensable key to all prophecy, as it tells us that God has put Israel’s future on a time clock.

To help us better understand this passage’s astounding accuracy and significance, let’s break it down into ten basic keys.