Suggested reading from the Editor's personal library.

Welcome to our Sweet Sixteen Celebration issue! We wouldn’t be celebrating this milestone without you, our readers and sponsors. So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you, thank you, thank you.

What would you say is the most urgent issue facing the Church today? More growth strategies, better stage lighting, more visibility on social media? Certainly not. It’s much more serious. The most urgent issue facing the Church today is whether it can survive without the preservation and proclamation of the true, apostolic gospel. 

I’ve got great news to share with you!

Earlier in my life I was diagnosed with a terminal illness, but last I checked, I’m completely healed. I’ve been telling everyone about it because it is so exciting and means everything to me. You see, my whole soul was infected with sin, leaving me with the prognosis of eternal death. However, I repented of my sin, chose to put my faith and trust in the Great Physician, and by His grace, He healed me of my disease. I am no longer destined for eternal death. I have been given the promise of eternal life. 

Does anyone care? I’ve asked myself this question more times than I’d like to admit. 

Not long ago, I had a full-blown pity-party kind of day. Ever have one of those? When life just seems harder than it should be? And you’re thinking, Shouldn’t everyone know I’m having a hard day?
Yet, no texts, no calls. Nothing. Just crickets. 

I find it hard to believe that I have been on Facebook for more than 20 years. I remember when I first started posting—it was so much fun! I could share what was happening in the Andrews household and reconnect with old friends I had lost touch with over the years. Most everyone I encountered on social media was kind, enjoyed catching up, and marveled at this new way of staying connected.

Within one year, my entire life changed. My daughter was admitted to the ICU just one month before her first birthday. As a mother, I wanted to fix everything. I wanted to take away her pain and make everything okay. But I couldn't.

My husband, David, and I were walking across a grassy baseball field one sunny afternoon when he pointed to a huge nest sitting atop one of the light poles that ringed the field. High above the nest soared two red-tailed hawks. 

Hope is more than a feeling. It is more than wishful thinking. True hope has a source. As Christians, we believe that hope is found in Jesus Christ, who brings light into the darkest places and healing to the deepest wounds.

In a world where headlines often leave us feeling overwhelmed, it's easy to believe the greatest needs exist somewhere else—in another city, another state, or another country. Human trafficking is one of those issues many assume could never touch our own neighborhoods. Yet the heartbreaking reality is that it does. It happens here. And because it happens here, hope must be here too.

Thankfully, it is.

Marital struggles look different for every couple. It’s what we do with them that helps shape our strength together.

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. With gratitude as the true centerpiece, friends and family are reminded why they’re grateful for one another, and it gives them pause to consider what’s truly important on the other 364 days of the year.

As Living Real Magazine celebrates its 16th anniversary,I couldn’t think of a more fitting theme than celebrating our health.
Too often, we take for granted the simple gifts that greet us each morning: the ability to spend time with the Lord, take a walk, exercise, prepare nourishing meals, and enjoy another day of life.

Open any news app, turn on the television, or scroll through social media, and you'll quickly encounter another reason to worry about money.