One year, I offered to help my youth leader by directing the Christmas pageant readers for the Christmas Eve service. Between the ages of ten and twelve, the children felt nervous...

One thing that I discovered early in my ministry was to “learn to listen between the lines” — to pay attention to more than just what is said. This challenge was...

With knocking knees and shaky voice, I spoke at a parenting conference. It was a huge step of faith for me to stand before a large crowd and share what God...

My hard work and long days of studying had finally paid off when I started the most academically challenging program in the United States military. Then I began to struggle with...

Exhausted and close to tears, I looked down at a table full of the gold-painted flower pots I was making into angels as gifts for each teacher and staff member at...

In today’s reading, David, a young shepherd, faced the challenge of fighting Goliath. No one believed that David could defeat Goliath. But David told King Saul that God had helped him...

In June 2016 Michael, my beloved husband of 37 years, passed away. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, given maybe six months at most, and sent home with hospice care on...

The tiny church in which I grew up didn’t have a regular minister, so one had to come from another town. The travel was often precarious, and sometimes our visiting pastor...

Though I’m only 16 years old, I haven’t missed the reality that today’s world is full of terror and violence. No matter what goes on in my life, it seems as...

I’d been sewing for five decades when I made a rookie mistake that took me to a sewing center to repair my machine. There I met a fabulous new community of...