By David Faust Somewhere I read this piece of advice: “If you have to eat a toad, eat it first thing in the morning. Then everything else that happens the rest of the day will be an improvement.” It doesn’t help to put off distasteful tasks. If you need to handle an unpleasant problem, get […]
Praying for the persecuted church
By Shawn McMullen Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering (Hebrews 13:3). Today has been designated International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. Churches who take time today to pray for their suffering brothers and […]
When you’re in the wrong
By Bev and Phil Haas I have a stressful job, but that’s no excuse for allowing my bad day at work to follow me home. I’m too embarrassed to go into detail about how I spoke to my kids. Any suggestions on how to make right the wrong I inflicted on my family? You’ve […]
The essential substitute
By David Faust It’s all right with me when the restaurant’s menu says “no substitutions.” Usually the chef’s recipe is fine the way it is. Anyway, substitutes seldom equal what they replace. Stand-ins command little respect. We call them bench-warmers, understudies, back-ups, second-fiddles. Schoolchildren try to get away with more mischief and do less […]
More than one way to forgive
The Editor’s Desk By Shawn McMullen Saul was not a perfect ruler. It didn’t take him long to succumb to arrogance, jealousy, and anger. Still, he did a few things right in his early days as Israel’s first king. He displayed an admirable humility when the prophet Samuel anointed him (1 Samuel 9:21). And he […]
