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2013 might have been a great year for some, but for others, it was a year to forget.Some of you went through a painful divorce this last year. Some of you lost your job. Others had relationship failures, family drama, personal defeats and health challenges.For some, this was a year that you want to put behind you.But how?The Apostle Paul gives us a hint in his famous words used by many as a motivational speech, “Not that I have already reached the goal or am already fully mat

USA Today compiled a list last week on the ten news items in 2013 that received the most internet attention (total number of clicks by consumers). Here they are: Miley Cyrus smokes a joint on stage Actor Paul Walker dies Kim Kardashian gives birth to a baby girl Student wrongly tied to Boston bombings found dead Glee star Cory Monteith dies Miley Cyrus shocked even celebrities with her twerking Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crashes in San Francisco Shooting rampage in D.C. Navy

Did you see the study that just came out of Mayo Clinic telling us how we can overcome the stress of the holiday season and enjoy it most?Sometimes the world gets it right. This study was just raw science with a bit of pop psychology thrown in. It’s been referred to in news programs this week as a help for people to enjoy the holidays. The findings are being published by Amit Sood, a stress-reduction expert and author of a new book, The Mayo Clinic Guide to Stress-Free Living

It’s not that this is the only time of the year that you get stressed out. But right now, you aren't thinking of last July when you had that meltdown. All you can think about is everything that is on your plate with Christmas coming less than a week away.You can be at peace this Christmas and you can find that peace now, so that you actually enjoy Christmas this year.It’s not complicated. I’ve got three simple steps for you. Take these steps seriously and follow them and they

The headline had it wrong. I’m not blaming NBC news, they were only quoting the current president of South Africa. But presidents even get things wrong sometimes. The headline and the quote, “He is now at peace,” was just a reference to Nelson Mandela’s burial. But Nelson Mandela was at peace long before he passed away. I’m not trying to deify him or any of the many things we do with beloved figures after their deaths. But one thing Nelson Mandela was not––a man of resentment

I opened my fantasy football page to rearrange my team for this week and was surprised that the regular season was already over. What? Already? It is midway through December. Boy did that go fast. And then I thought about my life. A few days ago my oldest little boy was toddling around proudly sporting his red cowboy boots. Oh wait, that was twenty-five years ago. Wow that went fast. Now he has a daughter almost that age. And its not slowing down. I’ve been at The Bridge for

Some passages in the Bible are hard to read. I just finished the Book of Judges and it was tough to get through. Not that the book is boring. Judges is full of interesting stories of war and leadership…mostly the lack of leadership. It contains the familiar stories of Gideon and Samson. But even in those familiar stories there is such a dark side to the circumstances and the people involved, even the heroes of the book, that it’s hard to read. The last three chapters are the

I find it interesting that people want to know in the aftermath of the death of a famous person whether or not they were followers of Jesus. I heard it after Steve Jobs’ passing (he was a non-practicing Buddhist) and even more so now after Mandela’s death. Mandela was a man of great passion. If you study his life, you will also find that, like most of us, he was complex. He courageously fought the injustices of racism but embraced violence and forms of terrorism in doing so.

You’ve tried before. In fact, probably quite a few times. But after a couple of days it always falls by the wayside. How can you get a daily quiet time established and then stick to it? There’s a great lesson in the Christmas story that helps. Mary and Joseph showed up at Bethlehem and tried to get a room, but they couldn’t. The only motel in town was full. How'd that happen? Well of course this was the first century and they didn’t have modern communication available. It’s n

This is no joke. I really thought it was when I first read about it, but its real and these people are sincere. They are planting atheist churches around the world and raising money to do so. People are giving to establish these churches and hundreds are attending. Here’s what the AP reported regarding the “godless church” plant in Los Angeles, "It looked like a typical Sunday morning at any mega-church. Several hundred people, including families with small children, packed i

Every year around this time I get questions from moms and dads asking for my opinion on Santa Claus: “Did you tell your kids there is a Santa?” Some are very adamant: “Santa Claus is a replacement of Jesus in this secularized society and just another way of spreading the materialism of this age.” Others see the fable as harmless delightful fantasy: “I believed in Santa when I was a kid and it didn’t hurt me! It’s just a fun way to give the kids a little magical spark during t

Loneliness is hard. And this is the hardest time of year for being lonely. For some, it’s a temporary period. But for others, it’s been a lifelong trial. God cares about you in this struggle, and he has answers for our problems. If you are lonely, many Bible characters could identify with you. Even Jesus knew the pain of abandonment, rejection, and the feeling of being all alone in the world. You might not be able to change some of the circumstances that have led to this, but

You should skip Thanksgiving this year if you are a grumbler, complainer, or generally negative person. After all, you’ll just be a hypocrite. Why would you celebrate a day that you don't believe in? If your modus operandi is to look for what you think is wrong and voice it, just forget the day. Everyone will be looking at you like, “What’s she dong here?” Now if you are wondering if this post is written for you… just check with a friend or two :-). Seriously, Thanksgiving is

My wife was pretty frustrated while trying to open one of those impossible clear molded plastic packages, “I wonder how many people wind up with stitches from these stupid plastic packages. I’ll bet the emergency room is full of injured people at Christmastime." I didn’t blame her for being frustrated. I avoid buying anything packaged that way if I can help it. I actually pay more for an item when it is in a box or a simple container, rather than having to fight with a heat s

Is Thanksgiving a Christian holiday? That depends on how you celebrate it. There’s nothing Christian about gluttony. While I love football, and a lot of committed Christians will be playing in the traditional Thanksgiving games, there’s nothing Christian about football per se. Just having the day off and getting together with a big group of people will not make the holiday “Christian”.On the other hand, the concept is deeply Christian. The worship book of the ancient Israelit

So in my last post I wrote about the value of meditation. But for some of you, you feel left in the dark. You know what meditation is and that the Bible encourages it, and that it is valuable, but you have no clue how to do it or where to start. I hope this follow-up post helps.My favorite method starts with choosing a portion of Scripture with between a half dozen to a couple dozen verses. The number of verses will determine how many days it will take to study and fully assi

Is Meditation even Christian? Isn't that like a Hindu or Buddhist thing? Meditation in eastern mystical religions focus on emptying the mind. Christian meditation is altogether different. The Bible encourages meditation as a filling of the mind with the Word of God.Joshua instructed God’s people to “meditate day and night” on His Word (Joshua 1:8). Psalm 1 tells us that the wise man meditates on God’s Word day and night. David prayed in Psalm 19:14, “May the meditation of my

Nothing short of heartbreaking. 10,000 lives lost…at the time of this writing. Heartbreaking.Then we ask, “Where is God in this?”As a Christian, I believe that God is sovereign. That means that he is in control. He is in charge. Jesus reassured us that even a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without our Heavenly Father caring about it. So what about this typhoon, the human suffering, the children? Does God care more about a sparrow learning to fly than he does people?Jesus

I’m being asked a lot of questions regarding the change in Illinois law allowing for same-sex marriage. Some are wondering if the Bible says anything about the subject, and if so, what. Others are expressing their concern for the disintegration of traditional marriage. Some are upset that the church is not doing enough to preserve Biblical marriage in America.“What is your position?” or, “Why aren’t we talking about this as a church?” are some of the questions I am getting

Have you ever felt totally out of place, unsure of where you were at, and less sure about where you were going and how you would get there?I’m writing this while on a plane heading to Paris. It was a sudden opportunity for a free, albeit quick, turnaround trip to a place I have never been, so I’m taking advantage of it. My wife is a flight attendant and when she was suddenly awarded this trip with a long enough layover to do some sight-seeing, I quickly rearranged my schedule