Tonia Woolever 
“Sometimes I wonder if marriage is overrated.” When the talk show host said this to me on live TV, I saw real anxiety in her eyes. It was the day after Valentines, when love was still “on the air.” She and her co-host — both single and youngish — had asked me to weigh in … Read more
When you spend years teaching, counseling and mentoring folks, you learn a lot about the desires of people’s hearts. For many years Ron and I did just this, first as local pastors and later via traveling around the U.S. and overseas. I loved getting out of my normal life “bubble,” meeting new people, encountering other … Read more
Every week we counsel and mentor Christians who are often either in crisis or deep disappointment. The question comes, “What should I do?” Of course, we advise and we pray, offering these things in faith that they will help. But the best and simplest answer would always be, Go home and get a life with … Read more
We cannot bear to feel empty for very long. In America we often have fast food restaurants every few yards, as capitalists cash in on our reluctance to experience hunger for more than a few minutes. The obesity epidemic confirms that we cannot bear the sensation of emptiness, that we are driven to satisfy the physical discomfort … Read more
Today, I set my heart anew upon loving Jesus well. Sometimes we need to do this — and not just for the Lord, but also for husband or siblings or others we know we are called to love in this life. Devotion is deliberate. And returning to devotion is often a type of sacrifice, because … Read more
I wasn’t born craving chocolate, actually. I didn’t know it would become a necessity of life until I tasted it for the first time. And I didn’t come out of the box loving the taste of a ripe, creamy avocado, or a sweet pecan; but it was instant love. New places in my appetite stirred … Read more
Man’s steps are ordained by the Lord, how then can man understand his way? Proverbs 20:24, NASB This verse is in my “pet peeve” file — because I hear it applied in erroneous ways, as if all men’s steps are ordained by God, predetermined, making man something of a puppet. On the face of this … Read more
As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No-one is good– except God alone.” Mark 10:17-18 How could Jesus say this, when Scripture unanimously … Read more
You’ve got it upside down and backwards! I’ve heard this since I was a teenager. You don’t hear it much today, but it floats up again when I observe how people generally handle the whole God-thing. People often feel as if everything about life with God is up to them, and that being a believer … Read more
Anyone who reads the whole Bible notices attributes of God and his culture that, by their repetition, stand out in the mind and get stuck in the heart. One of the most noticeable attributes is HONOR. God loves honor. He models honor, he teaches his children to honor, and he asks for honor. He promises … Read more
