When You Battle Cancer People Say the Most Horrible Things: The Secret to Speaking Life, Hope, and Love
Over the past few years, I’ve had well-meaning people speak life, hope, and love into me during the some of the darkest days of battling cancer. Their words were Honeycrisps dipped in 24-karat gold served on silver platters (poetic translation a la Proverbs 25:11)....
Watch My Most Vulnerable Interview Ever On PBS Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly
When PBS’ Religion and Ethics NewsWeekly asked to interview me about the painful journey behind Fight Back With Joy, I felt hesitant. I’d never allowed a film crew into our home, let alone a national television show, before. What questions regarding my cancer battle...
God’s Dirty Nasty Plan For Your Life
Far too many in the church today want to tell you that following God will make you richer, skinnier, more powerful. Good Friday grounds us in the truth that God does have a plan for your life; it’s just darker and dirtier than you’ve been told. Over the last six...
What I Hear When I Press My Ear Against Jesus’ Chest
Like a child holding onto a bundle of cherry-red helium balloons, I celebrated whenever joy was in my grasp, but also recognized the speed with which it could slip away, deflate, or disappear altogether. I knew better than to outright refuse joy, yet all too often I...
The Two Words That Will Revolutionize Your Life Today
Just a few weeks ago, I had the privilege of spending some time with my friend Mark Batterson, pastor of National Community Church in Washington D.C., who shared about his latest book, The Grave Robber. Batterson’s imagery raced through my mind as I read John 11-12 in...
Why You’re Not Experiencing More Joy
Do you ever feel like joy is just out of reach? Me, too. That’s why I spent more than a year diving into the more than 400 references to joy, happiness, merriment, delight, pleasure, dancing, rejoicing and more throughout the Scripture. I discovered joy is so much...
The Toughest Question You’ll Ever Have to Answer
Throughout the Bible, humans inundate God with questions. Why? Why? Why? How long? How much longer? Where have you gone? Yet God also has tough questions of His own. Who told you that you were naked? Who do you say I am? Who touched me? Perhaps the toughest of all the...
Have You Been Visited By Angels?
Have you ever had an experience that makes you wonder: Did I just encounter an angel? One spring during college I studied abroad in Spain. My flight was delayed more than a dozen hours. The person who gave me directions sent me to the wrong train station. I walked...
Confession: Why I’m a Big Chicken and I Think You Should Be, Too
I reside in a zoo. Whenever I hike through the rugged mountains of Colorado, I stay on high alert for mountain lions, rattlesnakes, and bears, oh my. More common sightings include deer, elk, wolves, 1,000 geese, 10,000 rabbits… And those quick-witted foxes. Foxes are...
Can Demons Teach Us About Jesus?
Jesus tours towns and villages, along with his posse, heralding the blistering good news of the kingdom of God. Crowds press from every direction, sad there’s no ability to take selfies. Yet Jesus cloaks his teaching in mystery. He tells stories through...
