We often think of God's goodness in terms of our tangible blessings and upbeat events. While these surely are expressions of divine goodness, we should not interpret God's love only by how He demonstrates it in positive circumstances. We often experience His goodness best in our darkest hours—in those situations, He shows Himself to be good in deeper ways, as He alone can (2 Cor. 12:9).

Many people feel so pressured by the expectations of others that it causes them to be frustrated, miserable and confused about what they should do. But there is a way to live a simple, joy-filled, peaceful life, and the key is learning how to be led by the Holy Spirit, not the traditions or expectations of man.

If I decided how my day were to go, I would never write in "crisis." I would never write, "Get sick" here or "Have my tire go flat" there, or "Have this unexpected disaster take place." I would just write in all the good stuff. I would plan for everything to go my way. There would be no traffic on the freeways. It would always be green lights and blue skies.

The last thing God wants is for anyone to go to hell. That is why Jesus spoke of it in detail. That is why He warned us about it. And that is why He did everything He could do so that we would not have to be separated from Him for all eternity. Jesus Christ experienced hell on earth so that we would not have to experience it for eternity.

Cohabitation has become the "new normal," according to one study, which reports that at least 48 percent of women between the ages 15-44 cohabitated with a man before they were married. But is normal good?