There is more than one kind of poverty. Many believers are hungry for the sense of belonging that genuine fellowship provides.

Sometimes God uses the awareness of our own poverty to make others rich. I recently discovered this during a move to a new town. My husband, Leif, and I were new to the area; something biblical writers like to call "aliens." Before we moved, we had asked three different pastors from three different denominations which church they would recommend. They all gave the same answer. We went to that church—committed to discover what God had for us.

We made a conscious decision not to get involved in the church for the first six months. We needed time to get settled—we were busy buying our first home, and Leif was starting a new job as well as going back to school to finish a degree in business management.

Don’t let these time bandits rob you of the relationship God wants you to have.

A man walked into a Burger King in Ypsilanti, Michigan, at 7:50 a.m., flashed a gun, and demanded cash. The clerk said he couldn't open the cash register without a food order. When the wannabe robber ordered onion rings, the clerk said they weren't available for breakfast. The frustrated man stormed out of the restaurant.

In Tennessee, a burglar realized he'd left his Nikes at the home he'd just robbed. So he returned and asked the lady of the house if she'd seen his shoes. She called the cops, and the guy was arrested.

The biblical Abigail had a tense relationship with her husband, but she practiced grace and wisdom, and transformed her situation.

As a mentor, counselor and minister's wife, I often hear desperately hurting women say: "You just don't understand. Things are not like they were back in your day." "You don't know the things we have to go through—single parenting, abusive relationships, substance-abusing partners, men who won't or can't take financial, emotional or spiritual leadership and responsibility for their families."

"Does the Bible even speak to our pain in any realistic terms?" They ask.

You think you’ve found a friend who will help you release your potential. But instead, you’ve attached yourself to someone who will stop at nothing to derail your hopes. Here’s how to recognize the right and the wrong kind of mentor.

Mary began baking cookies for her family and friends about 15 years ago and found great joy in it. Her cookies were so good that many people encouraged her to start her own cookie business. After just five years, her business is getting requests for shipments of cookies to areas all around the United States. Baking cookies for family and friends was easy, but cookies for people in distant places? Could I do this? Is there anyone who can help? she wondered. How do I get my business to the next level? Is there someone to advise me?

Lisa feels she has a call of God on her life. She remembers an encounter with the Lord when she was a teenager. Although that happened years ago, Lisa never forgot the commitment she made to God. She promised Him that she would preach His Word. Now, many years later, she senses it is time to act on her promise. How should I begin? she asks herself. I wish there was someone who could help me get started.

With so many dating options today, waiting on the Lord for a mate has taken on a whole new meaning.

Marijean (not her real name) had just broken her engagement to a successful businessman, who turned out to have serious moral failings. She was 31, and looking for real solutions to some of the relationship dilemmas many singles face, so she began regularly visiting a home Bible study I attended that addressed singles issues.

One evening on the drive home, she coyly asked me this question: "What is the procedure if someone is attracted to another person in the Bible study?" Gulp. I searched my mind for a file called "procedure," but found none. "Well," I said, finally, "they could try and mingle over cookies and juice at the end of the evening." That was the best I could offer, and I knew it was lame.

We need deep associations with others, but often the challenges seem to outweigh the rewards. Here's how you can make healthy connections.

Each of us lives out our lives through a series of relationships. From our parents, to childhood friends, to our first love, our major milestones are framed by memories of our relationships along the way. We remember those who were present or influential at each stage of our lives and, no doubt, we also remember those who were not there to cheer us along.

What is it that makes some relationships thrive and stand through tests, while others falter and fail? I believe the keys to bettering and sustaining healthy relationships are to have a firm foundation in God, and to learn to communicate.