In spring, the sun shines longer and brighter, which means it’s easier to see the dirt that’s settled in the house over the winter months This year, while your spring cleaning the house, why not check in with your soul, too?

“A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.” These first lines of Proverbs 31:10-31, like a disclaimer, warn us, “Ok, Ladies, this is going to be hard.”

“Woodlawn,” the movie, is full of captivating sub-stories and themes, leaving something to inspire each and every viewer. The main theme that love conquers hate is supported by the power and demonstration of great leadership. It is packed full of leadership lessons for every single member of the family.

In the inspirational movie, “Sacred Vow,” Doug and Amber are two teenagers madly in love. Fast-forward fifteen years, and their marriage has grown stale. So stale, in fact, that Doug finds himself in an affair with a younger women. When Doug finally comes to his senses and stops the affair, he attributes his cheating on ignoring the little things, saying about his life, “It got boring and uneventful, because I didn't value the details of our lives anymore."

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and if you’re still waiting for God to bring you that special someone, don’t give up. As Psalm 37:4 says, “Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Seven years ago, a young Christian single named Tami Acree began relying on God’s timing, and a couple months ago, she married the love of her life.

Among the  events wrapped into the phrase “Happy Holidays” is the Jewish celebration of Hanukkah. Celebrated for more than 2,000 years and detailed in the book of Maccabees, Hanukkah commemorates the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem after Antiochus took it from the Jews and used it to create an alter to Zeus in 167 B.C. To stop Antiochus, a man named Mattathias and his five sons planned a revolt.

With the secularization of Christmas comes the secularization of the time before Christmas: Advent. What was once a time of preparation for Christ’s coming has been either forgotten or boiled down to a calendar with a piece of chocolate for each of the 28 days before Christmas. However, there is so much more to this beautiful time of the year.

The latest addition to the PureFlix.com platform is the modern day musical, “Divine Will.”  The film actually wasn't even intended to include music, but the talented cast had voices too angelic to ignore. While music in a modern Christian film is still a growing genre, filmmakers such as Sight and Sound theatre and “Divine Will” creators, Ken and Christine Jones, remind us of the power of music and it’s ability to help us lift our hearts to God.

We pray you have a blessed Thanksgiving with you and your family. The Apostle Paul calls us to give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Check out this video for some great ways to practice giving thanks right now and throughout the rest of the year!

In honor of the first day of fall, we’ve put together a list of autumn activities that the whole family can enjoy. This time of year is so beautiful, but it always goes by too quickly. Here are some ways that you and your family can make the most of fall this year.

In the Christian movie, “God’s Compass,” Suzanne Waters’ husband receives a new heart and a few more years with his family because of another man’s death. As with most organ donations, the story in “God’s Compass” is simultaneously hopeful and devastating. It means the end of one man’s life, yet the continuation of another. In this way, organ donation is a beautiful demonstration of how God works all things for the good (Romans 8:28). However, the question remains: is organ donation okay? Some Christians feel that they should preserve their bodies. Others have trouble with the organ harvesting industry. What’s a Christian to do?

"She was no longer wrestling with the grief, but could sit down with it as a lasting companion and make it a sharer in her thoughts."

These words by George Eliot perfectly capture the character of Suzanne Waters in the Christian movie, “God’s Compass.” Though we never actually meet Suzanne Waters’ late husband in the film, we come to know his character through her stories of him, his old artifacts around her house, and even the brief sentences Suzanne says out loud to him, confident that he can hear her from heaven. Suzanne no longer wrestles with her grief, but it still lingers like a “lasting companion.” However, even in her loss, she finds joy and purpose in channeling her love toward those that God has put in her life.

Though grief cannot be completely erased until we are in heaven, we can, like Suzanne Waters, find solace in God’s plan for us and for our loved ones. If you have recently  experienced a great loss in your life, here are 5 ways that may help you to cope.

When praying for “the one,” we often have a preconceived idea of romance in our heads. He should be considerate and a great listener. She should be a Christian who likes to volunteer. The litany of future spouse qualities grows until we realize, “I don’t possess even half of the qualities I am expecting in a partner.”

In the New York Times article, “Why You Will Marry the Wrong Person,” author, Alain de Botton, tells us, “It’s one of the things we are most afraid might happen to us. We go to great lengths to avoid it. And yet we do it all the same: We marry the wrong person.”

Have you ever stopped to wonder if you hold grudges? Your immediate answer may be, “No. I’m a Christian.” But when we look harder at social circles from church, school, or family, there are always those individuals that have hurt us or just plain get on our nerves. We don’t necessarily wish evil upon these people, but we’ll avoid them in the parking lot or drop their names in gossipy conversations. However, gossip and avoidance are tiny acts of revenge, and rather than building community, they build hardness in our hearts.