There is a powerful word in the wisdom of the Orthodox Faith that acts as a real warning to you and me. It is the word “prelest.” It literally means “the state of spiritual delusion or deception.” This is a great spiritual illness in the teaching of the Church...
Life is simple. It is. Life is not complicated. Life is not hard to figure out. I know, amazing statements given the complexities of our daily lives, but it is true. Notice I didn’t claim life was easy! And that, dear one, is the difference. But it amazes me how much I complicate...
It never ceases to amaze me when I succumb to fears that flow from a forgetful faith. It seems a week doesn't pass (or sometimes even a day) when I am either mindlessly faithless or I have reduced my faith to mere "decoration." But that is easy to do in...
“I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I’m not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.” This saying has been around a long time and been attributed to several famous and not-so-famous people, but it rings true, doesn’t it?:...
We moderns love systems. What I mean is we read all the time about "10 Ways to Boost Your Metabolism," "4 Steps to a New You!," "8 Days to a Clean House!," and so on. We simply can't resist clicking on those links to read those stories. We seem...
What is it about close relationships that either blind you or enlighten you? What I mean is, I’ve known folks who were so close to someone else that they were absolutely blind to that other person’s faults. I’ve seen it get so bad that the two people were so...
Here's an interview I just did with Fr. Nick and Dr. Roxanne Louh about their new book "Renewing You: A Priest, a Psychologist, and a Plan." This is a book you'll want to read and also give as gifts to others. Take a bit and watch this and then...
My dear friend Hank Hanegraaff has a book out called "Truth Matters; Life Matters More" and in it Hank goes through the journey of revelation about his move into the Orthodox Church BECAUSE of his discovery that the continuity of Faith was about more than religious ideas or philosophy...
The girl needed a transfusion and the only suitable donor was her brother, and he was just 11 years old! So, the family talked it over and said it had to be up to the brother to do this. The doctor approached the boy and asked if he'd give...
As someone who has spent most of my adult life either as a police officer or in the nonprofit world, I can tell you, generosity is both addictive and life-giving. It really is. Studies have shown that there are real psychological changes in someone’s behavior and mood when they...
