When I was ten, I had never given a Christmas gift. My family barely had enough money for my parents to buy presents. But that December, a neighbor came to our...

In the silence of my infant daughter’s room, I finally understood Mary’s pondering. In those precious moments after my daughter had fallen asleep in my arms, my thoughts flitted from the...

We have a Chief Joseph lodgepole pine growing in our front yard. This unusual conifer attracts much attention and is the subject of many comments because of its seasonal change from...

My mother was 52 when she died of a heart attack. She had not been a heart patient and had been healthy, so her sudden death came as a great shock...

As a freshman in college, I enrolled in a physical education course titled “Winter Survival Skills.” One activity was to learn how to use a compass. One afternoon, the entire class...

Every Christmas I get a little depressed. In this season, Christians do many things to make life brighter for others. But I can’t do the majority of them since my age...

On the last day of the school term, I went to my daughter’s class. The teacher had turned on a radio to entertain the children. Most of them were sitting and...

I remember the struggle I endured learning to whistle. I spent days upon days trying with no success. But I was determined to succeed. I did not ask for help; I...

I once participated in children’s ministry at a church in an impoverished community. As Christmas approached, my colleague announced that the church would host a celebration and invite children from a...

When my mother and I fell victim to a phone scam, I not only felt ashamed, embarrassed, and stupid — I also felt angry. My first impulse was to wish harm...