March 19, 2012
How have you experienced the reality of “generational sin”? What can be done to change the ongoing presence of sin in a family line?
age-old question
Last spring, two 48-year-old twin brothers chose not to help their mother after she fell and hurt herself. The duo simply left the injured woman in the entryway of the house they shared with her. Police were contacted after the mother hadn’t been seen by friends for several weeks. They found her body in the spot where she had fallen—3…
martyrville
A person recently lamented to me, “I don’t get it. Why do all my relationships keep breaking down? I want to get along better with my family and have closer friendships, but I find myself in nearly impossible circumstances over and over again.”
This person sounded so helpless. The pull to console him was strong, but it’s not what he…
risk
My parents called me yesterday with some horrifying news. My second cousin and her husband had been murdered and their bodies dismembered in their home. Their gruesome deaths were particularly horrific because they had been killed by their adopted son. The son obviously suffered from deep psychological trauma, but it is still unfathomable how a child who was loved dearly…
never forgotten
One day, a taxi dropped world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma off at New York City’s Peninsula Hotel. But as the cab drove off, Yo-Yo realized he had left his cello in its backseat. It was worth 2.5 million dollars! The hotel staff jumped to action. As one reporter put it, they “put on their own virtuoso performance, contacting officials all over…
sandwiched
If you feel as if you’re a walking ham and cheese on rye, there might be good reason. More and more people are becoming part of the “sandwich generation.” They’re feeling the squeeze of caring for children while also supporting parents or parents-in-law. A recent report reveals that one in five working-age people in Asia are now officially “sandwiched.”
Boaz…
is it worth it?
Lou Gehrig may not have died from Lou Gehrig’s disease. The Hall of Fame pro baseball player is the namesake for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a debilitating neurological disease that slowly paralyzes its victims and ultimately leads to death. New research reveals that Gehrig may not have had ALS, but exhibited similar symptoms due to blows to his head.
Gehrig…
the downward spiral
Lori, Tyler, and Bandit the dog were sitting on the couch. Tyler reached out to touch Bandit, and Bandit attacked him. In surprise, Tyler withdrew his hand. Alarmed, Lori reached out and put her hands around Bandit in a caressing, consoling way.
Cesar Millan, known as the Dog Whisperer, said to Lori, “I love dogs. . . . But I…
sacred spaces
A torii is a traditional Japanese gate typically painted brilliant red and found at the entrance of Shinto shrines and Japanese Buddhist temples devoted to particular gods. Adherents to those religions believe it marks the point where one leaves the secular world and enters the holy. A large and famous torii stands off the shore of Miyajima Island in the Hiroshima…
get real
Slate magazine’s William Saletan indicts our culture stating: “Every time you answer your cell phone in traffic, squander your workday on YouTube, text a colleague during dinner, or turn on the TV to escape your kids, you’re leaving this world. You’re neglecting the people around you, sometimes at the risk of killing them.”
Wow! And he didn’t even mention the addictive…
letting go
Li Yue fell hard for Hou You Jing. They were from the same province, shared a love for badminton and western movies, and—as if by fate—met while working second shift at a microchip processor company in Shenzhen. Li Yue couldn’t stand to be apart from Hou You Jing, and she didn’t notice that her constant calls and weekend plans were…
who's your family?
They say that a dog’s owner often looks like their dog. I've seen a lot of funny pictures where there seems to be some truth to that. Here's a picture of my dog. No, I'm not going to put a picture of me up. I don’t look anything like her, and I don’t want to hear otherwise. :)
It's fun…
we will serve the Lord
"As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord" (Joshua 24:15).
—submitted by Ruth, Indonesia
a different Christmas
With gifts wrapped and under the tree, Christmas Eve came to a close. God’s goodness had been evident, but this year was different. Unfolding blankets and sheets, my husband and I created beds of the two couches in our family room. My husband’s parents, who live in town, were using our bedroom upstairs. Three months earlier, their oldest son—and only…
