A few months ago, I began to feel radiating pain up the right side of my back and neck and down my right shoulder all the way to my right index finger. The pain became so unbearable that even when I sat at the dinner table, the paralyzing ache caused my right arm to go limp. I didn’t know what caused the inflammation until I tried to use my computer mousepad. Simply lifting my arm to touch the pad sent a penetrating sting across the right side of my upper body. Although I do enjoy lifting weights, I knew this injury was not caused from a bodybuilding injury. It had to be something subtler ... Read the Post
Happy in Holiness
God wants me happy, right? I said to myself. Everyone at church is happy. They think I’m happy. So why don't I feel happy? As a new Believer in Jesus, I went from experience to experience seeking fulfillment. I went to Bible studies, women's conferences, and coffee houses. I even worked at a Christian radio station. My heart did not match the smile on my face. How could I stay happy when deep down I was crushed, miserable, and needed answers? After three years of pretending—I wore the happy mask well—I learned that I could not achieve continued happiness, even if those at ... Read the Post
Stand Firm
Twenty years ago, I attended my first Promise Keepers men’s conference. It was more than just a wake-up call for a young backslidden Christian man who had been sidelined by the temptations of life. It was a life-changing opportunity to understand what it really meant to be a Christian man. I was fortunate enough to experience it with both my father and my mentor. Although my father has since passed away, my mentor still encourages me to this day. Flash back to my college years, I had walked away from the church and my faith altogether. I was a seeker in a sense, but not for God—I sought ... Read the Post
Margins
My first broken heart as a Believer came from a Believer and that didn’t make my new-found faith much fun. After moving to L.A. from the East Coast to begin “life,” God blessed me with a job at a prominent publishing company where I met Brenda, also an out-of-state transplant. Despite our religious differences, (she was Christian I was not), a friendship grew over a love for writing and experiencing life in L.A. as young, college graduates. Brenda often invited me to church and Bible studies, and though I was open to attending, interest in Jesus was closed; being Jewish made Jesus and I an ... Read the Post
Snapshots of Kaleidoscope Wonder
On July 11, 1979, when I was eight years old, Skylab fell to the earth. Debris showered Western Australia. This 170,000 pound space station had odds of 1 to 152 of hitting a human, 1 to 7 of hitting a major city. The news of the impending disaster must have filtered through our RCA television set, as the nightly news dramatized it all. My young heart pounded in fear. Of all the memories I have carried through the years, one of them is this--I went outside on my swingset that evening and I prayed, "Oh God, please don't let Skylab hit me and my family. Protect people, so they don't get hurt." ... Read the Post
The God Who Foreshadows
The story of Jesus’s visit to the temple as a 12-year-old has always intrigued me. Why? Because it is a seemingly unusual inclusion. It’s the only story we have of Jesus’s boyhood following His birth and it’s only transcribed in one of the four Gospels—Luke. To be sure, it’s a great story. One that every parent can empathize with. Jesus’s family goes to Jerusalem for the Passover feast. Afterwards, His parents head home and inadvertently leave Jesus behind. They travel for a day before realizing He isn’t with them. Then they return to Jerusalem and spend a day searching. They find ... Read the Post
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