Gift Guides are BACK! We know how difficult it can be to find that perfect gift—and how rewarding it is when you find it! We decided to help you out a bit by compiling a list of unique gift ideas, mostly artisan and from small shops. We hope it offers you some inspiration this season, and maybe even makes checking things off your list a bit easier. Happy gifting!

We know how difficult it can be to find that perfect gift—and how rewarding it is when you find it! We decided to help you out a bit by compiling a list of unique gift ideas, mostly artisan and from small shops. We hope it offers you some inspiration this season, and maybe even makes checking things off your list a bit easier. Happy gifting!

How often have I ascribed more honor and glory and power to the gift rather than the Giver? How often have I distorted the pleasure of a gift from the hand of my Father into something selfish, something all about me? How often have I gotten caught up in the enjoyment of—then disappointed by—a thing that can never satisfy, rather than remembering that all good gifts point me to the only One who can fully satisfy?

Finding ourselves in the midst of our first significant transition, it seems fitting to write a more personal weekly truth. This past week I announced my transition out of leadership of the Bible studies and I wanted to share how God has shown His faithfulness.

Peter, the first to declare Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, begins to see Jesus draw crowds by the thousands. At some point in the three years of following Jesus, Peter becomes aware that he is one of the twelve closest friends of the King of the Jews, the Man who has come to set all things straight, the One who will not just set up a kingdom here on earth, but will bring peace to all nations and will rule the entire world in peace and righteousness. Peter lives and works alongside Jesus for three years. He doesn’t just have a good thing going—it seems he has reached the pinnacle of his ministry. Imagine Peter’s horror watching Jesus hang on a cross and breathe his last breath.