Growing through failure
It was the end of another long workday. In my first semester as an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher, each day brought dozens of new challenges, which I failed t... »
Articles
When at the bottom of the barrel
The other morning I read a passage from Acts, where Paul, in his farewell speech to the church of Ephesus, talked about living life generously and working hard to make su... »
Stunted growth
When I was a kid, I saw plenty of goldfish in the houses of my friends, and I remember wondering why so many people would want to keep such small, unexciting creatures as... »
Stress busters
Thousands of pages have been written about the subject of stress, so I wonder if there’s really anything new I could possibly say to help someone who is struggling with i... »
Master plans and waiting for awesome
In 2007, the Netherlands instituted a two-hundred-year plan for adapting to and preparing for climate change.[[“Dutch to draft 200-year plan against warming,” Associated... »
The mystery of less
Do you ever feel like, in order to meet your own expectations and those of others, you’d have to work relentlessly, push through the tired, ignore the stress—and you stil... »
Positive perks
When life gets to be too much, when everything around you seems to be falling apart, when you feel that nothing you do helps, think about Me. Think about how much I love... »
Soul renovation
Oddly enough, whenever I’m at the dentist’s office, there always seems to be one of those home makeover shows playing on the TV in the waiting room. The sound is muted, b... »
From pun to prayer
Today, while visiting a small town, I learned yet again that when God says “Jump,” I should ask, “How high?” He always knows best. I walked past a shipping depot and almo... »
The birthday mix-up
It was my birthday and I was returning a phone call from one of my relatives, but to my surprise, I didn’t recognize the voice that answered. The woman on the other end s... »
Back to basics
I was standing in the checkout line at one of our local stores and noticed the lady ahead of me was wearing a brightly colored T-shirt with a Bible verse on it. Then when... »
A temperamental garden
My small elementary school had the most amazing gardener we all called “Uncle Silas.” He could make one of those “picture-book gardens” with tomatoes, beans, cabbage, and... »