• Abundant Life,  Faith

    How to Move Mountains

    I live in full sight of Highland Mountain. Just one of the many in the Chugach range, it sits at 3360 feet according to the internet. While not a particularly tall as mountains go, nevertheless the Alaskan sun can barely peek over it in winter. To me, it looks primitive and wild, like the old black and white pictures of Alaska that I used to look at as a child. Squat and rugged, Highland Mountain, as minor as it is in the realm of mountains, seems immovable to me. And yet it has been moved several thousand times in the last couple of months. Each aftershock shimmies up the mountain,…

  • oxytocin
    Bonding,  Featured,  Relationship with God

    Jesus and Oxytocin: How to Bond with God

    Oxytocin is the love molecule, the chemical behind social and familial bonding. It reduces stress and increases our happiness quotient.  Interestingly, it has also been called the moral molecule because our oxytocin levels increase when we treat others well. And as it happens, oxytocin can be very helpful in developing a close relationship with Jesus. So many of the activities that scientists recommend for increasing oxytocin levels correspond directly to many worship practices, both individual and corporate. And our imagination can go a long way towards helping us develop an emotionally intimate relationship with Jesus as well. In fact, regular prayer and interaction with fellow believers can add significantly to…

  • son
    Featured

    My Son is Alive: How God Kept His Promise

    I’ll never forget the day my journey towards my son started. I was with my sister-in-law Amy in her depressing little studio apartment, and I had just used her bathroom. When I came out, it suddenly dawned on her that I had seen a pregnancy test box. She confessed her secret to me: she was pregnant. Now, you have to understand something about me. I have never been a baby person. I love kids, but babies used to bore me. I think it’s because they can’t talk or walk or really do anything, so I just have a hard time connecting with them. I’ve never had baby fever. I smile…