"Redeem the time," Paul says, "for the days are evil."

Or maybe it's me.

I have been thinking a lot about two of Jesus' agricultural metaphors regarding ministry over the past few years.

First, "Put your hand to the plow and don't look back." I have been doing that in my ministry. I have had an extremely strong conviction that I am to follow my calling in the place where I am and not waste energy thinking ...

The image of an apron-clad matriarch delivering a home-roasted turkey to the table on Thanksgiving Day (as immortalized by Norman Rockwell) is increasingly an icon of the past.

The National Restaurant Association reports that in 2006, 53 percent of American households used restaurant-prepared takeout items to supplement their Thanksgiving dinners, and 6 percent purchased fully prepared meals from restaurants, ...

In data collected from over 20,000 Christians in 139 countries (though mostly in America) and between the ages of 15 and 88, The Obstacles to Growth Survey found that, on average, more than 4 in 10 Christians around the world say they "often" or "always" rush from task to task. About 6 in 10 Christians say that it's "often" or "always" true that "the busyness of life gets in the way of developing ...

Along Came Polly tells the story of an unlikely romance between Reuben Feffer (Ben Stiller) and Polly Prince (Jennifer Aniston). Reuben plans out the details of his days and tries to play life safe, but then along comes Polly. She's a free-spirited friend from childhood who shakes up his world.

In one hysterical scene, Reuben and Polly are standing by his bed, which is covered in decorative pillows. ...

Like most couples preparing for a wedding, Dave Best and his fiancée were probably worried about whether or not everyone would show up on time for the ceremony on July 6, 2008. They didn't need to worry about their friend Dave Barclay, though. He was so excited about the wedding that he showed up a year early!

When Dave Best wrote Barclay, telling him about the July 6 wedding in Wales, Barclay ...

We want to be a saint, but we also want to feel every sensation experienced by sinners; we want to be innocent and pure, but we also want to be experienced and taste all of life; we want to serve the poor and have a simple lifestyle, but we also want all the comforts of the rich; we want to have the depth afforded by solitude, but we also do not want to miss anything; we want to pray, but we also ...