When our family relocated to the desert southwest, about the only relief from the relentless heat of the summer months was a trip to the public swimming pool. My parents enrolled...

I didn’t intend to retire, but I lost my job at 64. Then we moved because my husband changed jobs. Shortly after our relocation, I was able to take two extended...

When we moved to our current home, we learned that the redbud tree is very common here. They are often oddly shaped with gnarled trunks. Many have broken branches from storm...

I felt extremely grateful at the New Year’s Eve service in 2021. It indeed felt like a new beginning, a new hope against the odds of the past year. Yet after...

“Cindy, can you look through your college and work boxes and decide which items you want to keep and which you want to recycle?” Mum asked. My parents were downsizing and...

I work as an editor on the publishing team for the Korean edition of The Upper Room. I edit the Korean translation of the devotional guide so that our readers may...

Growing up, I was the youngest of four boys. Sometimes my older brothers would talk me into doing things that would get me into trouble. My parents would discipline me, but...

While coping with the effects of chemotherapy one winter, I asked my son to purchase and plant a new rose bush in my garden. He went to the garden center and...

In 2003 I donated a kidney to someone I had never met. I didn’t begin with that outcome in mind. Initially I was tested for compatibility with a colleague who needed...

My family and community usually let Christmas pass by without any acknowledgment. To comfort myself and appreciate the meaning of Christmas, I usually watch a Christmas concert or go to church...