Category Archives: Family

What Are The Side-Effects of Kindness?

Posted on February 24, 2026 by Mark Cole

Kindness looks simple. A smile. A listening ear. A generous act. A patient response when you could have snapped. But kindness is not small. According to Scripture, kindness is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). That means it is … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Family, God, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Leadership, Wisdom | Tagged act kindly, anger, be kind, compassionate, contagious, control, daily kindness, decision, deeply kind, effects, emotional safety, fruit of the Spirit, generous act, gentle answer, gentleness, God's kindness, humility, kindness, life-changing, listening ear, patience, powerful force, pride, reduces regret, reflect Christ, repentance, restored, side-effects, smile, softens hearts, spiritual power, spoke gently, strength, transformation, transforms character | Leave a comment

Where Do Your Gifts and Talents Come From?

Posted on February 20, 2026 by Mark Cole

Have you ever stopped to ask yourself that question? You can play. You can teach. You can build. You can organize. You can lead. You can write. You can listen. You can encourage. You can fix things. You can make … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Family, God, Holy Spirit, Wisdom | Tagged bold, books, build, can't boast, can't compare, Creator, decisive, design, designed, developing, discipline, do it, encourage, encouragement, enviroment, environment, faith, feel emotion, filled with music, fix things, generosity, genetics, gifted, gifts, good with people, hard work, intentional, lead, leadership, listen, mechanical mind, mercy, musical ear, natural ability, organize, Parable of the talents, patient, play music, practices, seed, sharpening, soil, spiritual gifts, steady, stretching, stward, talents, teach, teaching, use it, wired you, wisdom, wonderfully made, write | Leave a comment

How To Be Happy

Posted on February 19, 2026 by Mark Cole

Everyone wants to be happy.Few people are willing to do what actually leads to it. Happiness isn’t a mystery. It’s not reserved for the lucky, wealthy, young, or trouble-free. It’s deeply connected to the way we live and who we … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Family, God, Health, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Wisdom | Tagged align your heart, Bible, blessed, chase God, clear conscience, comparison, confess sin, content, contentment, decision, eternity, faith, forgive, fullness, fullness of joy, God first, God is in control, grateful, gratitude, happiness, happy, happy life, joy, life is hard, live clean, obedience, overflow, peace, pray, purpose, real happiness, serve, serve others, short accounts, sin, trials are temporary, trouble, Trust, trust God, walk with God | Leave a comment

7 Habits of Couples Who Stay In Love for Decades

Posted on February 17, 2026 by Mark Cole

In a society where marriages often fade under pressure, some couples quietly build love that lasts 30, 40, even 50 years. That kind of love doesn’t happen by accident. It’s built on habits. After decades of marriage and ministry, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Family, God, Healing, Health, Jesus, Leadership, Wisdom | Tagged choose love, control your tongue, couples, don't attack, endurance, faith, finish strong, forgive, forgiveness, friends, friendship, growing, habits, health, higher purpose, humility, in love, intimacy, invest, kind, laught, laughter, learning, legacy, love, marriage, memories, new skills, patient, purpose, romance, service, share, shared faith, shared mission, stay in love, talk | 1 Comment

God’s Gift Of One Day Off Each Week

Posted on February 13, 2026 by Mark Cole

In our nonstop, productivity-obsessed culture, the thought of deliberately taking one full day off every week might sound radical—or even wasteful. Yet Scripture presents this rhythm not as a restriction, but as one of God’s most generous gifts: a built-in … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Church, Family, God, Health, Jesus, Leadership, Wisdom | Tagged 7th day, acts of mercy, blessing, breathe, cease striving, day off, enjoy, family time, focus, freedom, generous gift, gift, give you rest, His provision, improves, intention, joy, justice, lowers stress, mercy, nurtures, provision, recover, regular rest, relationships, rest, rested, restoration, rules, seventh day, six days, slave, stop, Trust, walks, weekly, work | Leave a comment

The Impact Living Sound Had on My Life

Posted on February 9, 2026 by Mark Cole

Some experiences don’t just shape a season — they shape a life. Living Sound was one of those experiences for me. I joined Living Sound just three weeks before my 19th birthday in 1973. I was young, eager, and had … Continue reading →

Posted in Family, God, God Adventures, Jesus, Leadership, Music, Worship | Tagged adapt, Bible School, Bible studies, call, concert, cruise ship, culture shock, decisions for Jesus, every culture, faith in action, forgive, globe, go deeper, grow, His mission, Hong Kong, in love with Jesus, Israel, Kathryn Kuhlman, Korea, language, Living Sound, memorized scripture, ministry, music degree, nation, Nicky Cruz, obedience, perform, pressure, serve, South Africa, spiritual battles, the world, travel the world, travelling, Trust, trust God, Vietnam | Leave a comment

The Power of Blessing

Posted on February 6, 2026 by Mark Cole

Near the end of his life, Jacob gathers his sons around his bed and speaks words over each of them (Genesis 49). These are not casual comments or sentimental goodbyes. Scripture calls them blessings. And what he says shapes not … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Family, God, Leadership, Wisdom | Tagged Adam and Eve, bless others, bless the people, bless your family, bless yourself, blesses children, blessing, blessing God, blessing is powerful, blessing to the nations, blessings, character, corrective, declaration, destiny, disciples, encouragement, future, God blesses, God's purposes, honest, hopeful, identity, influence, instruments of life, Jesus blesses, leaders bless, life, life and death, parents bless, positive, potential, power of blessing, purposeful, redirection, sobering, speak blessing, speak life, spiritual, spoken blessing, struggles, tongue has the power, truthful love, what we say | Leave a comment

12 Keys To A Happy Marriage

Posted on February 4, 2026 by Mark Cole

A happy marriage doesn’t happen by accident. It is built—slowly, intentionally, and lovingly—over time. Every strong marriage I know is made up of thousands of small choices: to love, to forgive, to listen, and to grow together. Here are twelve … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Family, God, God Adventures, Health, Wisdom | Tagged affirm, calm, choose love, commitment, date nights, decision, encourage, faith, forgive, forgiveness, friendship, God first, grace, grow together, guard your heart, happy marriage, healthy marriage, humble, humility, intimacy, joy, joyful, kindness, lasting fruit, laugh, listen, love, love each other, lovingly, marriage, patience, peace, perseverance, pray together, protect, resilient, respectful, romance, seek God, servanthood, speak blessing, speak life, spouse, strength, strong marriage, teachable, truth in love, wisdom, worship together | Leave a comment

7 Things That Can Block Your Prayers

Posted on February 2, 2026 by Mark Cole

Most Christians know that prayer is one of the greatest privileges we have—direct access to God, anytime, anywhere. Yet many believers also know the frustration of praying earnestly and feeling as though their prayers aren’t being answered. The Bible doesn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Family, God, Healing, Leadership, Wisdom | Tagged ambition, block, block our prayers, cleanse us, comfort, conflict, cruelty, Disobedience, doubt, faith, fear, forgive, God is faithful, God's grace, God's Word, guilt, hinder, honesty, humble, humility, intimacy, joyful, life-giving, marriage, motives pure, neglect, prayer, prayer life, prayers, pride, proud, relational, relationships, repentance, repentant, selfish, sin, soft heart, spiritual distance, teachable, unanswered, unbelief, unconfessed sin, unforgiveness, walking humbly, weaken our prayers, wrong motives | Leave a comment

The High Cost of the Shortcut: Lessons from the Birth of Ishmael

Posted on February 1, 2026 by Mark Cole

We live in an era of “instant.” Instant downloads, instant coffee, and instant gratification. We’ve become so accustomed to the quick fix that waiting has started to feel like failure. When God gives us a promise but doesn’t provide a … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Family, God, Leadership, Wisdom | Tagged Abraham, complication, divine door, divine promise, faith, fleshly, friction, God is merciful, Hagar, help God, human effort, impatient, Ishmael, logic, open door, Plan B, promise, quick fix, Sarah, shortcut, spiritual, wait, waiting | Leave a comment

Category Archives: Family

What Are The Side-Effects of Kindness?

Where Do Your Gifts and Talents Come From?

How To Be Happy

God’s Gift Of One Day Off Each Week

The Impact Living Sound Had on My Life

The Power of Blessing

12 Keys To A Happy Marriage

7 Things That Can Block Your Prayers

The High Cost of the Shortcut: Lessons from the Birth of Ishmael

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