Daily Challenges Archive

My master’s work was in Counseling Psychology. I love helping people glimpse what makes them tick and I enjoy the process of discovery. My son had a gift for this. Where I had to work and dig, he had the unique ability to quickly read the source o...

Yesterday, I was sitting in the recliner in my living room with lots of family around. In the midst of the activity, I heard a small voice say, “Hm, that didn’t work so well.” I glanced toward the source of the statement and saw my 7-year-old gran...

It’s been somewhat of a rough week for my family. I’ve had a number of people tell me how amazed they are by how strong and resilient we’ve been. They haven’t been around when reality sneaks up and emotions erupt. However, for the most part, I agr...

There are many great truths in this short verse. One that is certainly prominent throughout the Bible, though not necessarily forefront in this passage, is that God is the one who ultimately tests our hearts. In fact, He is the only one who has th...

Read this again, especially the first half. In preparing for a memorial service this past weekend, I can’t tell you how many people told me that parents were never intended to bury a child. I certainly agree. As a matter of fact, in God’s original...

I’m kind of ambivalent about Starbucks. I know it’s an addiction for some folks, but as a non-coffee drinker, I can count on one hand how many times I’ve been to one. I would have loved to have been there a few months ago during a special promotio...

My oldest son, Kevin, would send me things he read and listened to just about every day. As a night-shift ER nurse, he often sent even more during slow shifts. Last week, he sent me something that really had an impact on him. It was a preacher tal...

I’m so grateful that this isn’t an either/or prospect. Speaking rashly is almost a universal sign of youth. Not all, but most young people are quick to express their opinions. They tend to think they are always right and that everyone wants and ne...

The word for ‘lif’me’ in this verse refers to eternal life—the life given by our Heavenly Father to His children. The righteousness in this verse has nothing to do with our behavior, thank God for that! It is all about the righteousness we receive...

Blaise Pascal was brilliant. That might be an understatement as I’ve been reading about him in preparation for this short devotion. I cannot even begin to convey the depth of intelligence he displayed in his works on math, science, philosophy, and...

Herod told the wise men that once they discovered where the newborn King was, they should let him know. He explained that he wanted to go worship and celebrate Him as well. As we now know, that was a lie. In this passage, Solomon reminds us that t...

It can be very fun to be invited to an exclusive party. This is especially true when the person throwing the party is someone you look up to. I have to admit, I can count those invitations on less than one hand. Speaking of invitations, how about ...