Many parents feel that they should have in place a consistent time of strengthening their family spiritually, but often they just don't know where to begin or how to continue with it.

Everyone wants peace, Francis, but they do not know the source of this peace. You must teach them. Real peace comes only from a peaceful heart! And a peaceful heart comes from finding so much God inside that there is no room for anything else but peace.

To say Christ does not need Christianity is like saying a farmer does not need agriculture. If by agriculture we mean Monsanto and McDonald's, then perhaps the statement is true. But if by agriculture we mean the practice of farming, then the statement is an oxymoron.

Lent provides an opportunity to practice our religion -- our Christianity -- off the mat; we take our church "state-of-mind" home for the entire month. In living with our God off the mat we make our relationship with God our own.

So this Christmas, as we look ahead to a New Year that holds a lot of uncertainty personally, nationally, and internationally, I want to give others -- and you -- The Compass: Read the Bible.

Jesus makes it clear that emotional authenticity is the basis on which we build our spiritual relationship with God, because God knows our true identity inside and out. Jesus invites each of us to enter into this kind of integrated life.

Desire is a key part of Christian spirituality because desire is a key way that God's voice is heard in our lives. And our deepest desire, planted within us, is our Advent desire for Christ, the Desire of the Nations.

In late summer 2007, I interviewed Dr. Hinson for the religious satire magazine The Wittenburg Door. Contract signed and article sold, it was to appear in a spring 2008 issue; instead, the legendary magazine vanished into the night.

I can see that the lake I am standing in is part of an important system that gives life and beauty. It makes me feel like I am a small but significant part of all Creation. Connected, it is not difficult to think of loving my neighbor.

I just spent two weeks on pilgrimage in Israel. In a sort of spiritual photo essay, here are 20 important questions for the contemporary believer.

Desire is a key part of Christian spirituality because desire is a key way that God's voice is heard in our lives. And the deepest Christian desire, planted within us, is our desire for Christ, the Desire of the Nations.

Next time you're reading that new spiritual memoir (or any post of mine): if the message doesn't turn you back to your own life and its local sources of nourishment, turn your back on it.