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 ...

One fine day in 1941, Violet Bailey and her fiancé Samuel Booth were strolling through the English countryside, deeply in love and engaged to be married. A diamond engagement ring sparkled on Violet's finger—her most treasured possession.

Their romantic bliss suddenly ended. One of them said something that hurt the other. An argument ensued, then escalated. At its worst point, Violet became ...

The film My Dog Skip is based on the childhood of American writer Willie Morris. It chronicles life lessons learned from a beloved terrier, a next-door neighbor, and the disappointments that flow out of a world at war.

Small for his age and bullied by other kids, Willie (played by Frankie Muniz) enjoys a special relationship with 18-year-old Dink Jenkins (played by Luke Wilson), who lives next door. ...

In his book It Came from Within, Andy Stanley tells of a man whose faith sprang back to life once he dealt with his anger. Stanley writes:

I met Joe at Starbucks. He was sitting in one of those overstuffed chairs with headphones on and a scowl that said, "Don't anybody come near me." Everything about his countenance and posture communicated anger. So when I saw him, I avoided eye contact and went on ...

In Shepherd Leadership, authors McCormick and Davenport remind Christian leaders to allow for second chances and gently restore the fallen. They write:

Thomas Edison filed an impressive 1,093 patents with the U.S. Patent Office, and behind each one of those 1,093 successes lay hundreds and sometimes thousands of failures. Edison mastered the art of recovering from failure with lessons in hand and sought ...

The encounter between Ashley Smith and accused murderer Brian Nichols resulted in Smith counseling her captor using Rick Warren's book, The Purpose Driven Life. Commenting on the incident in Time magazine, Andrew Sullivan compared this woman—unable to care for her young child—and this monster-like man, writing:

These people weren't saints. Grace arrives, unannounced, in lives that least ...

A writer in his 50s had written a manuscript for a book, and had sent it to several publishers without success. He grew so discouraged that he threw the manuscript into the wastepaper basket. His wife tried to salvage the manuscript, but he told her sternly: "We've wasted enough time on it. I forbid you to remove it from the wastebasket!"

Undeterred, she decided to show the manuscript to at least ...

Author Ken Sande gives an example of how loving actions can communicate forgiveness:

Loving actions can do much more than change your feelings; they can also communicate in unmistakable terms the reality of your forgiveness and your commitment to reconciliation.

Thomas Edison apparently understood this principle. When he and his staff were developing the incandescent light bulb, it took hundreds of ...

The Count of Monte Cristo tells the story of Dantes (James Caviezel) who is unjustly accused and sentenced to life in France's most dreaded prison. After 13 years he escapes, becomes wealthy, and then seeks revenge on those who ruined his life. Throughout the movie Dantes struggles deeply with his belief in God, moving from a simple faith to a loss of faith, and finally to a mature faith.

During his ...

In 13 Going on 30 Jenna Rink (Jennifer Garner) is a 13-year-old who gets the opportunity to experience what life would be like at age 30.

It happens at Jenna's birthday party. Among the guests is a group of girls Jenna longs to be a part of, the "six chicks." Her next-door neighbor, Matt, a pudgy, geeky guy with a crush on Jenna, is also present. Matt has spent three weeks making a birthday gift for ...