"I hope you die first!" If someone spoke those words to you, how would you react? What thoughts would roil around in your mind? Most folks consider it a selfish, rude statement at best, or a hateful, spiteful remark at worst. Typically, you do not feel warm...

By Emily Maurits Note: I (Terry) came across this practical blog a few days ago and wanted to share it with you. See Emily's bio and website information at the end of this post. What she writes stems from personal experience. She says, "Two of my closest family...

Three days ago, as I pumped gas into my car in mid-morning, I cried, tears streaming down my cheeks and onto the pavement. Before I tell you why, I'll back up and describe how the day began.   An Inside/Outside Contrast Sunrise birthed a new day, spraying rays...

How wise of God to create us with the need for bodily rest and sleep. How thoughtful of Him to design a world with a recurring cycle of sunlight and darkness, which provides us a built-in opportunity for a fresh start every 24 hours. In a very real sense, we do not...

Metaphors Describing Depression After decades pockmarked by plunges into dark moods, I know the difference between a state we call the "blues" and a full-blown depressive episode. The symptoms mentioned in the following analogies match the telltale signs of major...

How A Canine Companion Boosts Mental and Physical Health   Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap! When Dolly answered the front door, she looked into the downcast countenance of the mother of one of her piano students. The distraught friend, her despondency exacerbated by...

Humorous, Often Brutally Frank Comments from Children As Well As Husbands/Wives   After a worship service, a young child announced to his parents, "I've decided to become a minister when I grow up!" Cautiously encouraged by her son's spiritual openness, the...

  To love is a risky venture. Cherish a child, a parent, a sibling, or best friend and he or she may die, sending shrapnel through your heart, leaving it in tatters. Your fiancé may abruptly change his mind, leaving you at the altar with shattered dreams. Your...

Do you ever wish that your growth in holiness wasn't such a slow, tedious process? For every three steps you take toward Christlikeness, do you then slip two steps back? Just when you think you've gained victory over a sinful attitude or immature behavior pattern...

A Letter from John Piper Introductory note from Terry: Though I teach only one class this semester at Columbia International University, I have been scrambling to find delivery methods and resources for an on-campus class that will necessarily finish the semester...

A Dark Cloud of Realism with A Silver Lining of Hope It is one thing to write a book-length story of a successful Christian leader who battles daily physical pain, to illustrate through his life and ministry how God redeems pain for our good and for His glory.* It...

You are grieving the death of your husband. Who can best help you process the loss of a decades-long companion? To whom will you voice your heart-rending pain? Who can help you navigate the difficult transition to living alone, to managing life and making choices...