During the pandemic, many parents turned to art projects at home to help fill their children’s days. But art isn’t just a convenient pastime. As art therapist Vicky Armstrong notes, “From improving communication and motor skills to helping them develop a sense of self, there are many reasons why art making is valuable to children.”* Engaging in art activities helps children build their...

Fred Winn had the sort of job that would make for interesting conversation at a dinner party. As a librarian at a prison, he has come in contact with some very colorful characters. At the same time, he has also heard and seen the saddest of stories, including the unfair treatment of Black and poor people of all races in America. In For The Least of These: Reflections of a Prison Librarian,...

The Foundation for World Peace Via Universal Truth Uses Science to Explain Biblical Mysteries: Providing Answers We Desperately Need to Create Peace Part One: The Improbability of Coincidence. A term used by atheist Richard Dawkins, reaches biblical proportions in numerous discoveries by Founder, Theologian and Bible Scholar Michael Christopher in his book: Imagination of God. The...

What is the mission of God in the world and what is my part in it? Both the answer and the value of this question are made evident by means of a dose of “rabbinic rhetoric”: What does a barista and a missionary have common? Work is a sacred ordinance, and God intends for your vocation, your work, to be coupled with mission— God has called all believers, those who are “in Christ” by...

As adults, we already know from our own experiences that life is hard. Explaining this to our children, plus helping them deal with their own hardships as they get older, is not quite so easy. However, there is help. A new children’s book tackles this problem admirably and examines the mystery of suffering and pain. Why Do Things Hurt? is exquisitely illustrated and is an excellent tool for...

That’s how the author of exciting new book, This Wondrous Life, describes her book in one sentence. Andrina Rijken views herself as a regular girl who grew up in suburban Australia. Saved at a young age, she has passionately followed Jesus all her life. Everything seemed just the way it should. Yet despite all this, she began grappling with where she belonged in a rapidly changing society...

“Over the millennia, people have always had an interest in the last utterances of the dying,” says Marilyn Mendoza in Psychology Today.”1 She says, “The value and importance of these words are reflected in the law that admits dying declarations into hearsay evidence in criminal trials. Dying words are also of interest to us as perhaps a glimpse into the afterlife.” The last words of...

With so many Americans struggling with mental health challenges—more than 50 percent will be diagnosed at some point in their life, one in five in any given year*—a nationally recognized recovery leader has stepped up to the plate. Nanette Larson’s Restoration Guide provides recovery principles and practical strategies for full restoration. This Restoration Guide is a companion book to...

Love is sorely missing in our culture and in society. On any given night, 41,000 teens experience homelessness. Fifty percent of teens have entered the juvenile justice system, and 69 percent report experiencing mental health issues.* While many factors play into these few statistics from the National Conference of State Legislators, few towns are fully equipped to handle the plethora of...

According to a Lifeway Research study, more than half of Americans have read little or none of the Bible, and for those who have read Scriptures, less than a quarter have a systematic plan for daily Bible reading.* “Most Americans don’t know firsthand the overall story of the Bible—because they rarely pick it up,” said Scott McConnell, Lifeway’s executive director. “Even among...