By Susan Cort Johnson One winter day, shut inside my house, I became despondent and battled the urge to cry. But I knew tears were inevitable, and they would soon splash down my cheeks despite my efforts. Isolation didn’t come from snow and ice blocking the driveway, but the possibility of infection. My immune system […]
Five Ways We Can Count on God Read More »
By Katherine Pasour As I drove into my favorite nature trail parking lot, I felt my tension begin to ease before I exited the car. I changed shoes, grabbed my hat, and set off briskly down the trail, savoring the fresh fall air as I lifted my face toward the afternoon sun. A gentle breeze
Walking into a Closer Relationship with God Read More »
By Donna Bucher Patiently listening, my heart ached as I heard the familiar refrain. A family member expressing the overwhelming feeling of being “lost.” As a member of a hospice and palliative medicine clinical support personnel team, I receive many calls from the community looking for help or support for a loved one declining from
Authentic Faith in Troubled Times Read More »
By Michelle Flaningan I’ve always been a working mom, and up until six years ago, I worked in an office setting. I had finally accepted life as a working mom when one of our twin sons was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. Many changes needed to take place, including a more present parent to help
How to Keep Your Sanity as a Work-At-Home Mom this Summer Read More »
by Karen Carlton “Shhhhh!” I whispered for the hundredth time. I glanced at my watch as my two little girls squirmed and wiggled during church. I tried to keep a pleasant look on my face, but I was running out of patience on our first visit to our new church. This first visit and lots
10 Ways to Cultivate a Family-Friendly Church Read More »
By Barbara Latta Doubt about our abilities and fear of the future can seep into our souls bit by bit like air seeps through cracks under doors and windows. Doubt and fear here and there sneak in until those cold waves of discouragement overwhelm us. We may set goals, but mental pictures of previous failures
5 Biblical Ancestors Who Overcame Doubt and Fear Read More »
by Ellen Hopkins There once was a woman named Martha. She was hard-working. She was the kind of woman who’d be in charge of a team and work right alongside everyone. She knew what needed to get done, and she went after it. If she had lived in our time, she might have been the
A Letter to All the Marthas Read More »
by Annie Yorty I huddled in my seat on the frigid bus, face turned toward the window, sobbing quietly. My team and I had just left a Siberian rehab center. To call it a center, though, gave it far too much credit. Rustic better describes the patchwork structure, wood stove kitchen, and outhouses nestled deep
5 Reasons to Develop a Gospel-Oriented Lifestyle Read More »
by Michele Morin We sat in silent disbelief, neither of us knowing what to say. When my husband’s job was eliminated without warning, the news landed like a tidal wave: completely unexpected and comprehensively devastating. Then, as the wave receded, applications, interviews, and the thin hope that accompanies waiting seemed to set the agenda for
Building a Bridge of Hope Across the Tragic Gap of Uncertainty Read More »
by Briane Pittman Kearns “She began so well,” said my friend when I told her I was studying Rebekah, wife of Isaac, mother of Esau and Jacob. We may begin well, but to maintain a life of faith that ends well, we must guide our hearts to know God, love God, and trust God in
A Character Study of Rebekah: Trusting Bride Turned Meddling Mother Read More »
