You can only afford to be generous if you actually have some money in the bank to give. In the same way, if your only source of love and meaning is your spouse, then anytime he or she fails you, it will not just cause grief but a psychological cataclysm. If, however, you know something of the work of the Spirit in your life, you have enough love "in the bank" to be generous to your spouse even when you are not getting much affection or kindness at the moment.

Prayer can be simple, but it's not easy. Nothing great is.

Grace is to be let into a place that you don't have a right to be.

I think these younger Christians are the vanguard of some major new religious, social, and political arrangements that could make the older form of culture wars obsolete. After they wrestle with doubts and objections to Christianity many come out on the other side with an orthodox faith that doesn't fit the current categories of liberal Democrat or conservative Republican.

Like a baby learning language, we learn how to communicate with God by listening to His words first.

Grace is the free, unmerited favor of God, working powerfully on the mind and heart to change lives.

If there is a God, you owe him far more than a morally decent life.