Every year, we rush into December with lists, plans, oven timers, decorations, and an unspoken pressure to make everything just right. In the flurry, we can forget why we’re celebrating and Who this celebration is truly for. For many of us, the season turns into a cycle of overeating, overspending, overdoing, and then oversleeping in a sugar coma—especially for those of us who know better but can’t resist the candy dish. Next year, half the gifts will be forgotten, the decora

As cocky as I was, on the exact day I turned 18 ½, I underwent a kidney transplant that would not only save my life, but in many ways, dictate how I lived it. I was a scared, confused kid who had, nine months earlier, been forced to grow up instantly and way too fast. October 6th is the 42nd anniversary of the second-greatest event in my life: that surgery. The first was when the Lord saved my soul on October 2nd, 1973.