In his book The Prodigal God, best-selling author and pastor Timothy Keller offers the following story to illustrate self-centered giving:

Once upon a time there was a gardener who grew an enormous carrot. So he took it to his king and said, "My Lord, this is the greatest carrot I've ever grown or ever will grow. Therefore I want to present it to you as a token of my love and respect for you." The ...

In The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien writes about a kingdom called Gondor which for many years has had no king. While waiting for the rightful heir to come and claim his throne, a series of stewards has been placed in charge of the land. The steward in charge at the time of the events described in the book is named Denethor. He has two sons, Boromir and Faramir, both of whom figure prominently in the ...

What U.S. adults say is their idea of the American Dream:

• Free to accomplish anything: 74 percent
• Free to say/do what they want: 68 percent
• Children financially better-off: 64 percent
• Being financially secure: 61 percent

Many years ago, our family lived in Memphis. One day our 16-year-old son was reading the local paper and saw that a movie about Elvis Presley was going to be filmed at Graceland. The film company was looking for extras, and our son desperately wanted to volunteer. So I took him to the sign-up area on the specified day. Since he was a minor, I had to sign my name on a form, giving permission for him ...

Flattery is like chewing gum. Enjoy it, but don't swallow it.

—Hank Ketcham, cartoonist and creator of Dennis the Menace

He played in three Super Bowls, winning twice. Known as "The Secretary of Defense," the six-foot-three, 260-pound NFL defensive end compiled an impressive 97 ½ sacks during his career.

Growing up in the projects of Houston, Manley was given an athletic scholarship to Oklahoma State University despite his inability to read or write. After a stellar college career, Manley was drafted into the National ...

Rock star Courtney Love isn't used to waiting in line. She's used to the fame that came with her marriage to mega-star Curt Cobaine of the rock band Nirvana. She's used to the front cover of Rolling Stone magazine (October, 1998), and the wealth that came with her multi-platinum selling albums.

She's used to the black stretch limousine that dropped her off in front of the Manhattan Criminal Court building, ...

Napoleon Dynamite is the story of an awkward but loveable outsider (named Napoleon Dynamite) struggling through the ups and downs of high school life. Napoleon lives with his grandmother and brother Kip. Kip is a driven, misguided misfit, looking for direction in life.

When Napoleon and Kip's grandmother is hospitalized, smarmy Uncle Rico comes to live with them. Uncle Rico hates his life, and his ...

Benjamin Franklin vividly remembered a visit he made as a young man to see the Puritan preacher Cotton Mather and the life lesson learned. Franklin recalled:

He was showing me out of the house, and there was a very low beam near the doorway. I was still talking when Mather began shouting, "Stoop! Stoop!" I didn't understand what he meant and banged my head on the beam. "You're young," he said, "and ...

Pierre Salinger was President John F. Kennedy's press secretary. Salinger enjoyed telling the story of a conversation he had with the president on one of their many plane rides together.

Traveling on Air Force One, severe turbulence shook the plane, and Salinger briefly feared they might crash. When the aircraft righted itself, Salinger asked the president if he could imagine what the news story would ...