For the past fifteen years, photojournalist Chuck Bigger has traveled the globe with Compassion International, working to bring to life the stories of thousands of children living in poverty. When given the opportunity to interview individual children, Bigger likes to ask them this question: “If God were sitting in this room with us right now, what one thing would you ask Him?” This...
Adolescence is a Modern Plague
(Matt Walsh Blog) — Child psychologists have “discovered” that adolescence actually ends not at 18, but at 25. Once again psychologists have waved their wands and magically created a larger customer base. But maybe I’m being cynical, maybe adolescence really does end at 25. Or is it 18? Or is it 40? 35? 50? 12? 2? 93? I think the answer is yes. And no. Let me explain. Back in the old days, there...
Finding Joy in the Hard Times
Joy in the midst of trials. Is it really possible? I sit beside my classmates, waiting for this guy to do our chapel service. I gaze out the window, and see only a glimpse of light trying to break through the morning darkness. I just want this over with. So we can go back to class, and I can finish that essay I turned in late and ask someone for help on that one Latin sentence that I just can’t...
The Hard Stuff of Forgiveness
Want to do hard things? Want to succeed at life’s toughest challenge? Learn to forgive. Even the most talented people have limited impact until they learn the basics of forgiveness. But what does forgiveness mean, exactly? Is it merely saying “I forgive you”? Does it mean forgetting as well? We can try to squeeze it into a simple definition by saying: forgiveness is the continuous state of a...
Time-Management: A Matter of Personal Integrity
In my first post of this series I began by pointing out that what most people refer to this as “time management” is in fact “self-management.” It is a matter of making ourselves do what is wise, rather than what is foolish, with what Paul calls our discretionary, or opportunity, time (i.e. our kairos). I want to return to that idea now to make the point that effective “self...
Resurrecting Compassion
We, in America, are incredibly fortunate and blessed individuals. We live in one of the greatest countries on the planet and we reap the benefits of our nation being a superpower. Our lives, by virtue of living in America, are amazing. However, there are so many others in the world who are not nearly as fortunate as we are; these people, through no fault of their own, are destitute and largely...
Hart Main, Age 15: Selling Candles With Smells Men Will LIke
(Brass Magazine) — The American Dream–the success of the everyman — is getting knocked around a bit lately. But it can’t be counted out if high school kid from an industrial slash farming town in central Ohio needs to rent warehouse space to contain his rapidly expanding manscented candle business. ManCans’ headquarters is 1,000 square feet of concrete-floored, no-frills...
Halloween: Best Day of the Year for Door-to-Door Evangelism?
All my life I have thought of Halloween as something to be avoided. I didn’t have much trouble avoiding it since I live in the country, and we never get any people “Trick-or-Treating” at our house. I always treated the day as if didn’t exist, but this year, I found out that I was wrong to ignore the day. While asking God what I could do to further spread his gospel...