Kung Fu Panda is the story of a flabby, out-of-shape panda bear named Po who longs to learn the ancient art of kung fu. Amazingly, Po is selected by the village leaders to become the Dragon Warrior—the greatest kung fu master of all time. But in spite of his new status, Po is still a lumbering oaf. This reality is a source of constant consternation to Master Shifu, who has been charged with ...

The trouble with steeling yourself against the harshness of reality is that the same steel that secures your life against being destroyed secures your life also against being opened up and transformed by the holy power that life itself comes from.

—Frederick Buechner, Presbyterian minister and American writer (1926—)

"God's reality in our world is like gently falling rain. We each have a bowl in our hearts and minds in which we can easily catch God's reality—if we just hold it before us. But it makes all the difference in the world whether our bowl is turned upwards—or downwards.

A person without guile will turn their bowl upwards—ready to receive the truth about God if God really exists."

The Fantasy: As your little ones sit quietly at the kitchen table and hum along with Beethoven, they absorb their age-appropriate encyclopedias. Meanwhile, you recreate the map of the U.S. using homemade sugar cookies. Ahhh, you think to yourself. This is what life's all about.

The Reality: Your little darlings simultaneously shriek, "Mine!" as they rip the latest Bob the Builder coloring book in two. ...

Picking, choosing, and deciding which sins are trivial and which are the biggies is a completely human tendency. A young man once told me, "It's like a heavenly bank account. As long as I make more deposits than withdrawals, I'm in good shape."

I shared the biblical reality with him: the very first time he made a withdrawal, the account was emptied and closed forever. He thought that was a bit harsh. ...

For the Birds is a short film included as part of the Monsters, Inc. DVD. In the clip, several small birds fly onto a telephone wire and begin to squabble—chirping and pecking at each other. All of a sudden, they hear a loud squawk. Looking over, they see a giant, funny-looking bird perched on top of a nearby telephone pole. When the big bird sees that it has attracted their attention, it smiles ...

After years of urban living had ground down my childhood love of nature, I found it suddenly rekindled through my friendship with a young photographer named Bob McQuilkin. I was working as a magazine editor at the time, and Bob seemed determined to drag me out of my stale routine and reintroduce me to the joyous world outside.

Once Bob drove his jeep to my office and insisted that I come see two baby ...

Forgive me, for I have killed.

I have used swords and shotguns, handguns and grenades. I have shot, stabbed, and bludgeoned. I have crushed skulls with golf clubs and hammers and baseball bats. I have slaughtered men and women, drug dealers and crime bosses, soldiers and secret agents, mad scientists and aliens, zombies and the pizza guy. I have killed hundreds, even thousands—so many that I lost ...

Leaders, especially those who are elected through a democratic process, usually reflect the spiritual and moral character of a nation. Those who obtain power through deception often come from cultures built on lies. The same holds true for materialistic or violent leaders.

Other times, God puts people in power to carry out his judgment. God referred to the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar as "my deputy" ...

The problem with looking to Hollywood for the image of masculinity (even those true-to-life stories of courage) is that it feeds my desire for glory. Courage isn't only in the big accomplishments. It's in the small acts, too.

When I leave the theater and scratch the car door next to me getting into my car, my decisions about whether or not to leave a note admitting my mistake isn't glorious. Nobody ...