Perched on a branch at the top of a tree on a high, rocky cliff overlooking a river valley, an eagle has a vantage point. These great birds like to maintain a strategic or commanding perspective and comprehensive view of the world around them. Eagles like to see far and wide, so they often launch vertically from their perch and soar at great heights to gain an even higher, wider and moving vantage point.

What's happening in the lives of your young adult peers? What's going on in the final months of 2011? And what lies ahead? How will it affect your family? We all need a strategic and comprehensive perspective on life and world events. And those of us behind Vertical Thought strive to help give you that strategic overview in every issue, the current one being no exception.

Consider this proverb: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding" (Proverbs 9:10). To know that God does exist and is your—and everybody and everything else's—Creator is the premise of all knowledge and wisdom. If we don't understand that fundamental point, then we are lost in an immoral desert!

The striking thing is that the universal knowledge of God as Creator used to be a foregone conclusion in society. Now it's just gone. But you can hold onto it in your life! Weigh and consider the fascinating article by Mario Seiglie, "Prove There Is a God—Even Without the Bible." It will arm you with five solid reasons for faith.

This issue of Vertical Thought will take you on an intriguing journey of learning from trees (the giant sequoia), of exploring the surprising unbiblical origins of modern Christianity's holidays, of identifying what's right with marriage (the building block of society) and of finding help through Christ and others to recover from a serious mistake.

Our "Men and Women of Valor" series this time takes on two great historical ladies whose names start with E—Queen Elizabeth I of England and Esther, the Jewish queen of Persia. The feature on God-intended communication will help you properly harness the power and solve the problems of connecting with others through smartphones and social networking. And if that's not enough, we also offer you advice on how to maintain hope in the fearsome face of the end of the world!

As we seek to serve your needs and concerns, we welcome you to write to Vertical Thought. We want to know the challenges you're facing and how you are dealing with them. We want to hear what you'd like to learn more about.

Jesus Christ has wonderful things in store for today's younger generation in an incredibly wonderful world tomorrow under the rule of what is called the Kingdom of God. We want you and every vertical thinker to keep that big picture—that strategic vantage point—clearly in mind and soar above the negative influences of modern society … like an eagle.