Despite the best efforts of pastors and Christian educators, many children in America still don't enjoy going to church. These kids usually reveal their discomfort through one of a few predictable habits. Some fidget in their seats; others doodle or draw; still others try to sneak in a comic book or portable video game.

But a 7-year-old boy in Plain City, Utah, recently broke the mold and attempted ...

Many of us act as if repentance is a matter of the will. [But] we can't "will" ourselves into change. We can't "will" ourselves into feeling contrition or remorse. Repentance isn't doing something about our sin; rather it means admitting that we can't do anything about our sin. We cannot woo ourselves into anything but the most external form of repentance.

All our effort, striving, and willpower have ...

Dr. Katrina Firlik was the first woman admitted into the neurosurgery residency at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Her recent book, Another Day in the Frontal Lobe, provides a glimpse into the training of a brain surgeon. In one chapter she shares a story from the last year of her residency—a time when she was already becoming jaded to the tragedies of neurological devastation: ...

If we knew the most likely place a thief might strike would we react differently? The front door and first-floor window are the most common places burglars enter homes. With that in mind, consider the percentage of people who have done the following:

• Left windows open: 49 percent
• Left front door unlocked: 37 percent
• Left back door unlocked: 33 percent
• Hid key outside: 26 percent
• Left inside garage open: 22 percent

Television is an invention that permits you to be entertained in your living room by people you wouldn't have in your house.

I recently took a 45-minute drive in an old, beat-up van with a guy I barely know. Along the way we ended up talking about Jesus and whether this man would give his life to Christ. His response to me laid out humanity's resistance to the gospel with striking clarity. He said, "My biggest problem is pride. I can't humble myself. And you wanna know the reason I can't give up my pride?" He leaned up ...

Charlie and Agnes are some of the meekest people I've ever known. Charlie is a bright, energetic, hard-working man who could have been successful at just about anything he set out to do. What he set out to do was mission work. He spent his entire career working with some of the lowliest people on earth—alcoholics on skid row. For many years he was director of Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago, ...

I discovered the importance of pacing when running my first triathlon. I did all my training for the swim leg of the race in a pool. And my times were fantastic. But the Atlantic Ocean is no pool. I was confident going into the race. And so on the opening swim leg, I sprinted from the beach to the first buoy. I wanted to be at the front of the pack so I didn't have to embarrass everybody by swimming ...

Antiques Roadshow is the most popular television program on PBS. The premise is simple: the country's leading auction houses join independent dealers to offer free appraisals of the antiques and collectibles people have sitting around in their livings rooms, bedrooms, attics, or garages. In his book The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment, author Tim Challies refers to a particular episode in which ...

A 2008 Harris Interactive survey sponsored by CarMD.com found that 10 percent of the 2,041 U.S. adults polled were driving a car whose "Check Engine" light was on. An alarming 50 percent of those whose cars were showing signs of an impending breakdown indicated the light had been on for over 3 months. Another 10 percent said the light had been on between 1–2 months. Kristin Brocoff, marketing ...