Brenda Nixon and I connected over our common Ohio roots and our love for our neighbors - especially the ones who are oh-so-different from us. Brenda's 35th book, Beyond Buggies and Bonnets: Seven True Stories of Former Amish, chronicles her experiences "adopting" two Amish runaways, befriending...

Confession: I've ever seen a scary movie, never been to a haunted house. I cringe at creepy, crawly decorations and I dread a month of gory programs on television. But... my neighbors seem to like Halloween very much. They're hanging spider webs and bats (and occasionally even people) in their...

Over a year ago, I taped this verse to my computer, "I am determined to know nothing when I am with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified." (1 Corinthians 2:2). It was a pragmatic, simple little thing. I have unattainably high German principles, Dutch opinions, and a scorching Irish temper....

“I want to do great things for God!” Every good Christian says it. But putting it into action is terribly difficult. I would know. In 12 years of marriage, my husband and I moved 10 times. Each move, I would say, “THIS time! This time I will share my faith and do great things for God!” Fast...

Do you ever feel like you could have done more, you would have if only you'd had more time, and guilty about all the things you think you should have done? {sigh} Me, too. This has been the busiest season of my life. It took everything I had—spiritually, emotionally, physically—yet I still felt...

We have, once again, experienced great evil. An armed man entered Umpqua Community College in Oregon and killed 10 people. The temptation is to try and make sense of evil. The urge is to think frantically for a magic answer, or throw our hands up in despair.  Write the world off as going to hell...