Good news! America’s 13- to 17-year-olds are, by and large, hopeful about the future.    …And there are ways the adults in their lives can help them hold onto their optimism. “Despite the current social climate and current challenges, teens are optimistic and they’re open. They long to see change in our world,” says Ashley Ekmay, …

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Before heading off to university, Daniela Angulo was sure that her on-campus conversations about faith would require all the apologetics knowledge she’d ever learned. “We saw secular college as a battlefield. That was what we expected,” she says. “We were expecting to go in with our weapons in hand.”   What she found instead surprised …

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Parents can be tempted to make the children the family’s highest priority. But giving our children the best of our time and attention is not actually what’s best for them, according to Dr. Greg Smalley. Smalley is an author and speaker who serves as vice president of Marriage at Focus on the Family. He …

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The essential message of Christmas—deeper than the sparkle and lights— is the very hope that can sustain us in a broken and often painful world. The Christmas trees went to the curb—or into their boxes–weeks ago. So is there any reason to think about Christmas now?  Ben Mandrell, president and CEO of Lifeway Christian Resources, …

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From the loss of school connections during the pandemic to the death of a grandparent, sometimes well-meaning adults misstep as they try to help grieving children.    “I think we can get a little clouded around making ourselves feel more comfortable rather than kind of accompanying the child where they are,” says Lacy Finn Borgo. …

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Are you dreading the big family Christmas get-together because of the potential for conflict? “Our love for Christ makes a great difference,” Dr. Chet Weld says, “so we remember the Scripture that says: ‘love triumphs over judgment,’ and we want to be filled with the love of Christ and love everyone unconditionally as Jesus does.” …

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Your life is probably not too busy to fit in prayer, Bible reading, or another of the disciplines that draw us closer to God.    “We all the time think: ‘Oh well, at the end of the day I just didn’t have time to read my Bible today,’ or, ‘I just didn’t have time to …

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People with cancer are already in a club nobody wants to be a member of. Add holidays to the mix and it gets even more complicated.   “As far as the holiday season, because of the emotion, and the community and the family gatherings, it’s a tough time to be dealing with a cancer diagnosis. …

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Jesus calls us to humility, and that’s what’s needed to mend divisions in our churches and communities.   “There’s a really kind of twisted pressure in Christianity in this day and age to sort of make a name for yourself. And that can blatantly happen as we’re seeing people professionalize their brand, like try to build …

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Learning to negotiate anger is key if we’re going to have good relationships.       Dr. Josh Straub and his wife Christy Straub want to help children learn that early. The Straubs are family and leadership coaches who head up the organization Famous at Home, and their newest book for children is What Do I Do …

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