Several workplace-related studies in 2008 suggest that the majority of working Americans aren't all that fond of who they work with.

• When asked if a colleague has ever tried to make them look bad, 50 percent of respondents said yes; 48 percent said no; 2 percent said they didn't know.
  
  
• When asked to identify which causes more stress at work—co-workers or workload—51 percent of respondents said co-workers, while 49 percent said workload.
  
  

Fans of the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox will do anything they can to help their team get an edge on their bitter rival. It's not uncommon for some to attempt to put a jinx, either seriously or jokingly, on the opposing team.

Exhibit A is Gino Castignoli. When the Yankees were building a new stadium in 2008, Gino—a Red Sox fan—was a construction worker on the project. He decided ...

Within the ruins of a large copper-processing center in the lowlands of Jordan, an international team of archaeologists has found evidence that shows Edom may have been an advanced society as early as the 12th century B.C. The evidence proves that it was most definitely an advanced society by the 10th century.

Why is this significant? In biblical history, the Edomites were the descendants of Esau and ...

In all of sports, there is perhaps no basketball rivalry quite as intense as that between the Universities of Duke and North Carolina. The campuses are only eight miles apart. Both teams have different shades of blue for their primary color, so North Carolinians are told, "Choose Your Blue!"

Duke fans take their allegiances seriously. Every fan is a cheerleader. When the two teams recently played each ...

The movie Drumline explores the maturation of a talented percussionist from Harlem who receives a full-ride scholarship to Atlanta A&T University to play in the marching band. Early on Devon Miles (Nick Cannon) discovers that making the transition from hip-hop street drumming to the drumline of a university's celebrated marching band is more challenging than he expected.

Devon consistently deviates ...

Robert Russell tells this story:

There is a huge rivalry in college basketball between the University of Louisville and the University of Kentucky. The story is told that at one of the games between the two schools, an elderly woman was sitting alone with an empty seat next to her. Someone approached her and said, "Ma'am, I have rarely seen an empty seat in Rupp Arena, let alone at a game between these ...

The mother ran into the bedroom when she heard her seven-year-old son scream. She found his two-year-old sister pulling his hair. She gently released the little girl's grip and said comfortingly to the boy, "There, there. She didn't mean it. She doesn't know that hurts." He nodded his acknowledgement, and she left the room.

As she started down the hall the little girl screamed. Rushing back in, she ...

In Like Dew Your Youth, Eugene H. Peterson writes:

A search of Scripture turns up one rather surprising truth: there are no exemplary families. Not a single family is portrayed in Scripture in such a way so as to evoke admiration in us. There are many family stories, there is considerable reference to family life, and there is sound counsel to guide the growth of families, but not a single model family ...

In Actions Speak Louder Than Words, Herb Miller writes: Two Kentucky farmers who owned racing stables had developed a keen rivalry. One spring each of them entered a horse in a local steeplechase. Thinking that a professional rider might help him outdo his friend, one of the farmers engaged a crack jockey. The two horses were neck and neck with a large lead over the rest of the pack at the last ...

My first-grader came home and proudly reported to her dad that she was now officially a "Brownie." Not to be outdone, her 3-year-old brother, Christopher, rushed up to Dad and proudly announced he was a cupcake!