Everyone at my church loves to see Cindy coming. Before worship, she walks around the sanctuary with a tin of assorted candies. Talking and laughing with people as they find their...

In a week’s time my daughter goes to college. It will be a big transition, moving away from home and leaving a sheltered Christian family life. My husband and I are...

In the 1940s, Floyd Smith ordered a small packet of bamboo shoots in the mail and planted them on his property in Prattville, Alabama. Today, his land is preserved as a...

Several years ago my church wrestled with the prospect of building a new facility. Our location on a corner lot downtown prohibited expansion, and parking was limited. Our congregation could not...

I love to sip a cup of coffee while I read The Upper Room and spend time in quiet prayer. As I reflect on this daily ritual, I realize that since...

As I entered high school, I decided that I wanted to be on the school’s wrestling team. When practices started in late October, I realized that the sport would be much...

One day I received a letter from someone who was unknown to me. As I read through it, I found it was regarding an article I wrote that was published in...

The Cávado River is a small river that follows a linear course through Portugal. Its presence provided sustenance to an old settlement for thousands of years. The river has always been...

My twin eight-year-old daughters take swim lessons at the YMCA. The pool is long, and the lanes are separated by ropes and buoys. The youngest children in the class look like...

Over two years ago, I bought a small fig tree and planted it in the garden. It didn’t do well and looked as if it were dying. I dug it up...