Recently I had the opportunity to live in a Hutterite colony in rural Minnesota. (The Hutterites are spiritual cousins to the Mennonites.) I wanted to experience firsthand what it was like...

When I was a young mother, one of my least-favorite tasks was folding the clean clothes for my family. All those baskets heaped with mounds of little shirts, pants, dresses, socks,...

The wooden stepladder I had borrowed was old, but it would do the job as I painted the ceiling in my house. Distracted by the task at hand, I took several...

Our friend Bill had cancer surgery and was to begin radiation treatment soon thereafter. Instead, Bill had to make two trips to the emergency room and undergo five more surgeries. Bill’s...

As a young girl, I expected God’s voice to come booming from parted clouds. But when it never happened, I just assumed that God did not care about me. Today’s reading,...

The email stung. Magazine editors had rejected my devotional submission. I had put a lot of time and thought into that piece, and I believed in my words. I tried to...

For a long time, I wanted to participate in the ministry of my church, but I didn’t know what I could do. I don’t have a good singing voice and am...

While dealing with the effects of cancer treatment, I would often find myself numbering the days: only twenty-five more days of chemotherapy . . . only two more days of radiation....

At times I hear my co-workers chatting with the cleaning crew in our building. I used to feel a little uncomfortable and tongue-tied in these moments because they reminded me of...

Words are powerful. When I was a kid, I was never chosen to play on my classroom’s team and suffered from the hurtful words others said to me. Although I tried...