In June of 2008, Randy Alcorn gave a message at the Resolved Conference, a ministry of Grace Community Church, in Sun Valley, CA, on the subject of Heaven. For more information on Heaven, please visit http://store.epm.org/product/heaven

This is wedding season and I'm sure a lot of you will be going to weddings over the next three months. If you're married, be sure to use this opportunity to think in terms of cultivating and preserving your marriage.

I've recently been overwhelmed with seemingly endless opportunities to do good things. I've been weighing what to say yes to and what to say no to. Seems like every year of my life I have to say no to more good things.  

I think of how God had his hand on my life long before I was in high school, when I read for the first time a book that really captivated me...the Bible. That Book came alive to me when I met the Author, who soon became my best friend. Can't wait for all the adventures He has awaiting us, His children, in the new universe.

This month we’re giving away Randy’s murder mystery novel Deception to three randomly drawn winners.

Books and bookstores have had an enormous influence on my own life. I came to Christ as a teenager, at Powell Valley Covenant Church in Gresham, less than a mile from where I live now. My first youth pastor, Paul Siwick, did me a huge favor—he gave me a key to his office, so I could go in any time and read his books, hundreds of them. I read everything I could get my hands on.

I’d like to address a recent question that came up in a blog comment last week. I figure other readers might have read the question and may be interested, since I've been asked it many times over the years.The question was, from a biblical standpoint, is it okay to talk to our loved ones who've gone on to be with Jesus?

When I'm asked what writers had the most profound influence on me as a young Christian, I always say there were three, and they continue to influence me today: C. S. Lewis, A. W. Tozer and Francis Schaeffer.

I've been thinking lately about how differently I look at God's will now than I did when I came to Christ in high school.