Do you remember the ancient fairy tale about Rumpelstiltskin? A king locked the miller’s daughter in a tower, requiring her to spin straw into gold or lose her life. But each night, a strange little man entered her room and, for a price, spun the straw into gold for...
Scientists say it’s possible for us to see the light of a distant star, farther from the earth than our own sun, after that star has died. The star might be long gone, but we may still benefit from its light gleaming in the heavens today. Mentee This past week I lost...
We want love. We need love. More than one thousand song titles contain the word love. We write books about it. Recite poems. We chase it and sing about it and fall for misconceptions of love. And no matter what we do, we can’t get enough. Maybe that’s because we don’t...
Thirty-five years ago, I stopped a pickpocket. It happened on Nassau Street in lower Manhattan as I watched a man match his stride with a woman in front of him. When he was close enough, he reached into her side coat pocket from behind and lifted out her wallet. She...
Why is quiet such a rare thing in our world? Consider that: when we get into our cars, one of the first things we do is turn on music.when we come home to an empty house, how often is the television turned on for “background noise”?if a group of people are silent for...
Three years ago this month, my husband receiveda diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. Two years ago this month, the doctor told him his prognosis was terminal. For me, January will always be associated with these events. For better or for worse, our need to remember is...
Do you remember the song, Jesus Loves the Little Children, written by C. Herbert Woolston? Even if you don’t know all the stanzas, you probably remember the refrain: Jesus loves the little children, All the children of the world. Red and yellow, black and white, All...
Talking about beginnings seems especially appropriate during the month of January. A new month. A new year. And in this case, a new decade. The Bible also starts with “In the beginning” (Genesis 1:1). "In the beginning, God created…." We’ve heard those words so many...
Do you make new year’s resolutions? I used to, but they never lasted more than a few months at the most. A few years ago, I began adopting one word to focus on throughout the year as a substitute for resolutions. One word that would apply to multiple areas of my life....
When I was in high school, I worked in the toy department of a department store. Twice a year, we prepared for an outside firm to take inventory. We worked with these teams to count every item on the shelves, and I do mean every item. We even included incomplete or...
Waiting for the Church’s Bridegroom June is traditionally associated with weddings. So I can’t allow the month...
Trusting God for the Next Five Minutes In a world that seems to be spinning out of control, can God be trusted?...
Walking in the Light When It’s Dark Have you ever been in a situation where you were walking in a well-lit...