Driving through the summer-browned countryside of Romania, I heard one woman on my vacation Bible school team ask another, “What is God teaching you this week?” That question clanged around my...

Recently, I went through three medical procedures for my prostate, bladder, and colon. Initially I was worried because I had overheard the attending doctor say something about a round spot in...

I appreciate the prophet Elijah, not because he performed miracles or challenged false prophets but because he was so honest with God about his fears. In 1 Kings 18, Elijah challenged...

A rose bush grows in a small memorial garden just outside our dining room window. The buds and early blossoms are a vivid yellow. Then as the rose opens into full...

At the end of the eight-mile hike to the top of Half-Dome in Yosemite National Park, we came face-to-face with the metal cables that would guide us to the top. Our...

Every two weeks, another of our four young children came down with chicken pox. What’s more, during this same time, my mother lay recovering in the hospital from her first cancer...

As I stood on the bank of smooth, white pebbles, the river surged past — with the morning sunlight glinting off the water. The river’s steady roar filled me with peace....

One day when I was looking for a particular pair of slacks, the closet was so full I could not find them. Much to my surprise, I could not remember the...

I usually begin each new year with a feeling of excitement at the chance for new beginnings. But the first month of 2014 did not hold much hope. My four-year-old son,...

When I first sang the words, “Here I raise mine Ebenezer; hither by thy help I’m come,”* I had no idea what Ebenezer meant. Then I read today’s scripture and learned...