Have you ever wished you could see and understand God’s perspective on life? Most of us want that daily. Unprecedented disasters appear on the rise, and mass shootings are no surprise. Fear builds mountains, and faith shrinks to pebbles. Questions without answers can leave us wounded and wanting, hurting for something more. Even the self-acclaimed optimist may admit the difficulty in making sense of life’s negative events.
Ten Ways to Encourage Children, Grandchildren, and Graduates
They may be your children, your grandchildren, your friends, or your relatives. As graduates, they may qualify as “young” or “young-at-heart,” like 98-year-old Noa Olchs, who earned her master’s degree one year from Fort Hays State University. But they are all in need of your encouragement. Here are ten ways you can encourage them:
A Prayer for Those Who Need God’s Help
The doctor calls. Bills increase. Finances decrease. Accidents happen. Answers hide. Worry enters. Stress abides. Do you need God’s help in any area of your life? Are emotional, physical, and spiritual flood waters rising out of control? Is God interested in your needs? Have you tried to solve those needs by yourself? How is that working out for you?
Five Reasons It May Be Hard to Forgive Ourselves and Others
Hard to forgive? “I won’t forgive. And I won’t forget.” Like hot lava spewing from a live volcano, those confessions usually flow from a heart that’s been broken or crushed. Victims of violence, hatred, or even life’s accidental losses often have difficulty seeing beyond the hurt or the pain. Who can blame them? No one wants to walk in their shoes. And no one wants to make heartache their best friend.
What If You Never Make the Top Ten–or Anyone’s List?
Each year you’ll usually hear or read about a list of people who have made the “Top Ten”: Top Ten Fashion Designers, Top Ten Bloggers, Top Ten Musicians, Top Ten Authors, or Top Ten Wage Earners. We may never see our name on a “Top Ten” list–or on anyone’s positive kind of list. Things in our lives can easily slip from bad to worse. And it’s entirely possible that some circumstances will never change, no matter how hard we try to influence them. Life may never seem fair. How can we possibly handle that without giving in or giving up?