Billy Hartman was one of my good buddies growing up. He lived on a big farm with horses, only a ten-minute walk from my home. One of the most profound memories I have of the Hartman farm and family was the time they installed the first bomb shelter I had ever seen. It was during the Cuban Missile Crisis, when the Cold War seemed ready to lead us into the first all-out nuclear war. In that...
Do you know a child who loves to play with cars? Maybe a little one fascinated with big trucks? Then, The Wheeles, a series of books written by Sarah Reju and illustrated by Tania Rex, is sure to be right up their alley. The Wheelies are a family of vehicles whose adventures are both fun and relatable to children ages 3–8. And when trouble finds young Coop, as it always seems to do, the truth of...
A 75-year-long Harvard study found that meaningful relationships are the strongest predictor of happiness.[1] This is not surprising to Christians because the first pages of the Bible tell us we were made for relationships. So here is the question: If we all need community, and want community, why is it so hard to come by? The answer in Genesis 3 is that sin turns us in on ourselves. We are...
Most of us carry stories—some beautiful, others heartbreaking. For many, the weight of past trauma or failure can feel like a mark of shame or a permanent limitation. But what if the very pain you’ve experienced is not a barrier to your calling but a bridge toward it? What if, instead of disqualifying us, our wounds become the soil where God cultivates healing and purpose? This concept lies at...
There are many books telling parents how to deal with the challenges of raising their children and navigating the various challenges of parenthood. I myself have written a few! But not much has been written to help adult children address the challenges they often face with their parents. In my years of Christian counseling, I have found that many need wisdom about how to handle various...
