God called me to trust in him when I was just three years old, but I didn’t really begin to understand his grace until I was seventeen. Don’t get me wrong—I loved Jesus as a teenager. In the midst of high school heartaches and often tumultuous relationships with my parents, he was my refuge. But somewhere, somehow, I believed the lie that I had to be good in order to stay close to him, that my...
Even a casual reader can see that the Bible is full of commands, prohibitions, and expectations. It tells us what to do and what not to do. These rules or laws often present an obstacle to faith. Non-Christians object to Christianity because it seems like “just a bunch of rules and regulations.” And even faithful Christians struggle to understand how the law of God and the gospel of God relate to...
In this episode of Straight to the Heart, our host Rush Witt, speaks with Joni Eareckson Tada about her life and ministry in the present moment, where she finds grace to persevere through difficult challenges, and how students can become involved in summer internships with her ministry called Joni and Friends. Timestamps: 2:16 – Welcome3:56 – How are things at Joni and Friends today...
In his biography of Napoleon Bonaparte, Andrew Roberts tells the story of one of Napoleon’s early victories. Outnumbered on the battlefield, Napoleon demonstrated that his gift for exaggeration could easily turn into full-blown deception. It was August of 1796, and Napoleon was surrounded by 3,000 Austrian troops. His force (just over a third of the size of the opposing army) was exhausted. The...
Anyone who experiences a traumatic event feels confused, lost, out of control, unsure, and unsteady—disoriented. This kind of suffering leaves marks, sometimes on the body, always on the soul, and sometimes both. In I Have PTSD: Reorienting after Trauma, counselor and trauma expert Curtis Solomon helps those who have suffered the disorienting effects of trauma to reorient their lives to the path...
