An entryway is the space that extends a warm “welcome home” to your family at the end of a long day away and a sincere “we’re glad you’re here” to the people invited into your sanctuary. The entry provides a glimpse into the life we live within our own four walls. And if, at times, it reveals a bit too much about us, that’s okay too. When we’re authentic, we invite our guests to be themselves. That’s hospitality at its best.

In describing heaven, I once heard a well-meaning speaker declare, “If it’s important to you, it will be in heaven.”

I almost fell out of my seat.

There are plenty of “important” things in this life I am quite sure will not be in heaven, even stuff I really like and enjoy. But have you ever stopped to consider just where people get their ideas about heaven? And whether or not those ideas can be believed?

A woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. —Mark 5:25-26 (ɴɪᴠ)

For us in the twenty-first century, it is hard to imagine bleeding from the womb for 12 years. Medical science has progressed way beyond the rudimentary knowledge of Jesus’ day.

But I suggest there are still many women with chronic bleeding of a different sort. We bleed from the heart.

For those who love the wonder, entertainment, adventure, and excitement of a fabulously written novel, the hunt for the next great read is a joy unto itself. But trying to find a good book in an ever-changing market can be a bit challenging these days. I’ve been editing novels for nearly 20 years, and I have seen so much change in the Christian fiction world. And yet, comfortingly, some things remain the same. Let’s talk about changes first.

All of my early life was ruled by fear. I was afraid of my mother, afraid of other children, afraid of people, afraid of heights, afraid of the dark, afraid of dying, afraid of car accidents, afraid of the future, afraid of going to the hospital, afraid of not getting to the hospital in time, afraid of every possible thing that could happen to me. I had countless fears until a spirit of fear controlled my life.

Over the past 3 decades of my ministry, I’ve performed some 80 weddings, and done so in a number of different locations and scenarios. I’ve found myself officiating ceremonies in cathedrals, churches, chapels, at country clubs, on the beach, overlooking golf courses, and even in the middle of the woods.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. —Ephesians 2:8

Dispatcher: “Request for first aid at 12 Shady Grove Lane for a cardiac.”

Officer Jack Endicott met us at the front door. 

“Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.”  —Romans 8:34

One of the greatest things about God’s grace is His ability to turn a mess into a miracle. 

Researching a story opens up a whole new world—especially when another country and time period are involved. For our novel My Brother’s Crown, we stepped back into seventeenth-century France and found ourselves enlightened, to say the least.

“You know, you really shouldn't read Revelation. Seriously. It’s only going to frustrate and confuse you.” 

Sound familiar? Ever had thoughts like that?

If you’re like many Christians, Revelation can seem like an insurmountable obstacle.