A few years ago, a good friend of mine took his three-year-old daughter, Amy, to her first circus. Before the event her father tried his best to describe the exciting atmosphere of the big top. She asked lots of questions along the way. Would she get to pet the elephant? Could she swing on the trapeze? Would the clowns come and talk to her? The night before, she could hardly sleep. She woke her parents ...

Top cosmetic surgeries in 2008:

• Breast augmentation: 355,671
• Liposuction: 341,144
• Eyelid surgery: 195,104
• Nose reshaping: 152,434
• Tummy tuck: 147,392

Dove soap has released a series of commercials that question the beauty industry's relentless pursuit of the "perfect woman."

In a commercial called "Evolution," a woman wearing no makeup walks to a chair and sits down. As the camera focuses on her face, we see a series of time-lapse pictures that show her "evolve" into a billboard model.

First the make-up artists tone her skin to perfection. Then ...

The A & E documentary Beauty in a Jar is an examination of the $7 billion cosmetics industry in the United States. It covers the historical, cultural, and social aspects of women's make-up. As the documentary begins, Linda Wells, editor-in-chief of Allure magazine, comments: "Women want to look better. It's such a simple wish for all women." Various scenes of women putting on make-up are shown. "It's ...

In his book Don't Waste Your Life, John Piper recounts a story his father often told in his days as a fiery Baptist evangelist. It is the story of a man who came to saving faith in Jesus Christ near the end of his earthly existence. Piper writes:

The church had prayed for this man for decades. He was hard and resistant. But this time, for some reason, he showed up when my father was preaching. At the ...

Kevin Baugh has his own country—The Republic of Molossia—and if you don't mind, he'd prefer you call him "His Excellency Kevin Baugh." After all, he has an impressive khaki uniform with six big medals, a gold braid, epaulets at the shoulders, and a blue, white, and green sash. Oh—and a general's cap with a gold starburst over the bill.

Never heard of The Republic of Molossia? That's ...

In a 2008 article for Psychology Today magazine, Hara Marano writes about the constant pressure girls face concerning their image. Deprived of an internal compass, girls compete to be "hottest," turning colleges into incubators for eating disorders and numerous unrealistic, self-imposed expectations.

But why?

Marano cites Courtney Martin, author of Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters. Martin believes ...

In his book Let Your Life Speak, Parker Palmer, a Quaker, tells the story of how God used Palmer's friends to shape his vocational path in a significant way. Palmer had been offered the opportunity to become the president of a small educational institution. He was certain the job was for him, but he honored the tradition of the Quaker community, which is to call on a dozen trusted friends to engage ...

I had been serving in the church high school ministry for just over a year. I loved it! It had become my passion. Though I was still a senior in high school, I had been asked to be a campus leader and was doing some teaching under the mentorship of our youth pastor. I knew in my heart that this was training for a lifetime in ministry. I could feel the Holy Spirit working through me. I was having the ...

A 2008 Fitness magazine poll of 1,000 women found that women are willing to take drastic steps to reach their ideal weight:

• Twenty-three percent would spend a week in jail.

• Twenty-three percent would shave their head.

• Twenty-two percent would wear a bikini on TV.

• Twenty-one percent would trade ten years of their life.