I was having lunch with an old friend. We had worked together years ago and had not seen each other in a long time. As we caught up, we spoke of blessings - family, work, friendships, the good gifts that God had poured into our lives. Eventually the conversation turned to hardships and struggles ...

My daughter's and son-in-law's marriage was coming to an end. For some time, I had wondered what would become of Susan's and my relationship with his parents after the divorce ...

Rosie is one of the cutest, most beautiful, dogs I have ever seen. Rosie is a dachshund - elegant, intelligent, affectionate and loyal. She's also a bold, stubborn, independent and fearless badger hound ...

I am struggling to get it all down. What to leave in? What to take out? That struggle feels familiar to anyone who has tried to put their relationship with God into words ...

I once met Kinky Friedman at a wedding. Kinky - a Texan, singer, songwriter, novelist, humorist and occasional politician - handed me his card which read ...

When our son, Clay, was discharged from the Marines after serving tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, he told us he was suffering from a "wicked" case of PTSD. At the time, we didn't know what that meant. It was 2009, and even much of the medical world didn't fully understand it ...

My Dad was a physician. He was also a gardener. Growing up, I was surrounded by the beauty of flowers, all nurtured and cared for with love - each one planted properly in the right location with the right exposure to the sun, fertilized and watered, pruned and protected ...

At some point in our lives, we ask deep questions: Why am I here? What happens when I die? How can I be saved? Nearly two thousand years ago, a man asked that very question: " What must I do to be saved? His question, and the answer he received, still hold the key to hope, freedom and eternal life today ...

Every week, Susan and I haul bags of garbage to the curb. We generate a lot of garbage. How about you? Thankfully, twice a week, garbage trucks roll through our neighborhood, removing garbage accumulated over the past few days. Without them, the piles would grow, the smell would spread and our home would quickly become unlivable. In the same way, our lives also collect garbage - not physical, but spiritual. The Bible calls it ...

I was invited to speak at a suicide prevention conference and my host and I were eating breakfast at the hotel. A young man walked up to our table and asked if he could join us. He turned out to be the keynote speaker for the conference. His name was Kevin Hines and he told us his story ...