Scientists studied the resilience of sixteen societies worldwide, including the Yukon and Australian Outback. They analyzed thousands of years of archaeological records, tracing the impact of famines, wars, and climate. One factor stood out—the f…

Like many people who struggle with pornography, Russell was exposed to it at a young age. The desire to use it was overpowering, and it poisoned his heart. “My life [became] completely saturated by it,” he writes, “so much so that it …

During a raging wildfire, a forest ranger saved a bear cub. At a recovery site safely away from those still fighting the inferno, he placed the rescued animal on the ground. Standing on its tiny back paws, the cub hugged the man’s calf. The range…

After all the joy of Christmas Day, the following day felt like a letdown. We’d stayed overnight with friends but hadn’t slept well. Then our car broke down as we were driving home. Then it started to snow. We had abandoned the car and taxi…

“What sweeter music can we bring / Than a carol for to sing / The birth of this our heavenly king.” The lines of this 17th century poem “What Sweeter Music” were reimagined by modern-day choral composer John Rutter to become an …

Many historians believe that the first-ever radio broadcast of music and speech was heard by radio operators on US Navy and other ships in the Atlantic on Christmas Eve, 1906. Instead of the usual beeps and pulses to transmit codes, they listened to Re…

In 1872, President Ulysses S. Grant was stopped for recklessly driving his carriage through Washington D.C. One published account says that the officer, an African American named William West, warned Grant, “Your fast driving, sir . . . is endang…

When my friend Maritza took a job that required traveling to many different cities by herself, she often felt lonely. But over dinner one night, she leaned in and told me, “Jen, I prayed and asked God to send me His people.” She went on to …

The man was busy harvesting onions when we prayerfully approached him during the home visits we were conducting on our mission trip in Ecuador. In broken Spanish, I told him my friends and I’d like to briefly speak to him about the Bible. He paus…

Henry David Thoreau described a city as a place where many people are “lonesome together.” Those words have the ring of truth. In my youth, songs like “Mr. Lonely,” “Only the Lonely,” and “Eleanor Rigby” …