Alfred Edmond was stuck in Overland Park, Kansas. His motorcycle had run out of gas, and Edmond had run out of money after a long trip from Las Cruces, New Mexico. He was just 14 miles from his destination of Olathe, Kansas, where he was supposed to have an important job interview. Enter Overland Park police sergeant Dan Carney. Carney pulled up in his squad car, handed Alfred $8 to fill the tank ...

What oxygen is to the lungs, such is hope to the meaning of life.

—Emil Brunner, Swiss theologian (1889–1966)

Yellow is not my favorite color. But now that I know the story of Vincent van Gogh, I have come to value yellow differently. This famous Dutch painter, sadly, tossed away the truth imparted him in his Christian home and sank into depression and destruction. By the grace of God, as he later began to embrace the truth again, his life took on hope, and he gave that hope color.

The best-kept secret of ...

The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet.

—Frederick Buechner, U.S. writer and preacher (1926–)

Robert Emmons, PhD, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Davis, and psychology professor Michael McCullough of the University of Miami, have long been interested in the role gratitude plays in physical and emotional well being. They took three groups of volunteers and randomly assigned them to focus on one of three things each week: hassles, things for which they were grateful, ...

A 2007 survey by the U. S. Census Bureau suggests that a couple's odds of reaching their 25th anniversary are below fifty percent. Divorce rates are up, and the percentage of Americans who marry only once is down. In 1996, 69 percent of men and 76 percent of women had married only once; in 2007, those figures had dropped to 54 percent and 58 percent respectively.

These findings imply that the so-called ...

America is swimming in a sea of Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil! In 2006 alone, over 190 million prescriptions were given for antidepressants. The swim is a little expensive, though. On average, each pill costs between $2-3 for the patient. To add to the burden, the side effects of antidepressants can sometimes be negative.

Researchers at Britain's Essex University have found a much cheaper alternative with ...

Proverbs 17:22 says, "A cheerful heart is good medicine," and contemporary research seems to underscore this truth.

"Bob Hope made it to his 100th birthday, and so did George Burns. Coincidence? Maybe not, says Michael Irwin of UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine and former adviser for the federally funded National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. "Laughter releases endorphins—those ...

Kirsten Strand writes:

I have learned that ignoring a calling can lead to depression, anger, frustration, and a deep dissatisfaction with life. And I have learned that following a calling can also lead to moments of depression, anger, frustration, and loneliness. Yet, underneath those feelings will be a profound sense of peace and satisfaction.

I believe that the real difference in the American church is not between conservatives and liberals, fundamentalists and charismatics, nor between Republicans and Democrats. The real difference is between the aware and the unaware.

When somebody is aware of that love—the same love that the Father has for Jesus—that person is just spontaneously grateful. Cries of thankfulness become the dominant ...