Don't equate the presence of God with a good mood or a pleasant temperament. God is near whether you are happy or not.

I accepted the forgiveness of God. I got off track as an adult and because I believe in God's grace, I believe that gave me strength then to get that little part of my life realigned, to not play games about it, to confess it, to ask for forgiveness from God and ask others to forgive me as well and then move on.

Jesus spoke to those who had turned their backs on history. He spoke to those who had blatantly ignored sign after sign, servant after servant.

But by faith you look in the mirror and see a robed prodigal bearing the ring of grace on your finger and the kiss of your Father on your face.

It's no wonder, that God's anxiety therapy includes a large, delightful dollop of gratitude. The anxious heart says, "Lord, if only I had this, that, or the other, I'd be okay." The grateful heart says, "Oh, look! You've already given me this, that, and the other. Thank you, God."

I really enjoy making people laugh; I've discovered that's a great technique. That's as powerful as stirring their sorrow, stirring their compassion, because that befriends you to them. It engages you with them and then you can come in; they will remember that point.

I noticed people would read these short articles I was assigned to write for our church bulletin and they would say, Boy, thats good stuff. I got letters from people around the country saying, Thats really good. And I thought, Is it really?