What makes a woman beautiful? The beauty industry generates over $600 billion annually. Algorithms study what women click, buy, and envy and then sell it back to them as a standard. The message is relentless: thinner, younger, trendier, more skin. Worth is measured in appearance. We know what the world thinks is beautiful, but what…

There’s a lighthouse on the coast of Maine called West Quoddy Head. It’s the easternmost point in the United States. Every day it shines its light out for ships. Not just big ships, but little boats too. Not just passenger ships, but cargo vessels as well. Not just friendly ships, but even unfriendly ones. It…

In 1707, British Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell sailed confidently home from Gibraltar with four Navy vessels under his command. Certain of his position, he ignored warnings. As night fell, tragedy suddenly came upon him as his flagship vessel struck the reef off the coast of the Scilly Isles. His ship sank in under three, dragging…

The Burj Khalifa is a building in Dubai that stands over 2,700 feet tall. It’s so high it pierces the clouds. From what I hear, standing at its base, you can barely see the top. It’s the tallest building on earth and is almost incomprehensible. Now imagine stacking next to that building every sin you’ve…

A hammer can build a house or break a window. A knife can prepare a meal or cut your finger. Fire can warm a home or burn it down. When it comes to judging these tools, the difference is never with the tool itself but how it is used. The same is true of God’s…

There are lots of things that you can eat that won’t kill you. But not everything that won’t kill you is good for you either. Of course, poison will take you out fast. That’ll straight up kill you. But what about junk food? Junk food won’t kill you today, but it’s not good for you.…

There are several places on my body that I could point to where I have scars. Whether it be from rapid growth or an accident or an injury, those moments are etched in my body. And each of them tells a story. Like this scar on my hand, it has a story from the summer…

There’s a really interesting statement in Galatians 6:11. Apostle Paul suddenly draws attention to his handwriting, “See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand.” By this stage in his life, Paul commonly used an amanuensis, a secretary who wrote as Paul dictated. But here at the close of Galatians,…

This spring, I finally broke ground on my first garden here in Mississippi, four years after moving from Kentucky. The biggest question with a garden is: Do I want one or not? And once it’s settled that you do, then the second biggest question is: What do I want to harvest? My daughter and I…

Somebody somewhere decided that teachers deserve apples. And they were right. They deserve more than that, but the gift of an apple is a beautiful instinct, a simple way of saying what you do matters, and so do you. A child handing their teacher a big Red Delicious is really handing them honor. Gratitude with…