Swimming lessons
Have you ever noticed how some people can stay afloat when engulfed in troubles and hardships, while others sink to the bottom? What sets the swimmers apart from the sink... »
Personal Accounts
Just be there
Most parents will probably attest that one of the ongoing challenges of parenting is spending quality time with your children. What makes it especially tricky is that wha... »
A very good place to start
The first time I ever held a Bible was as a little girl sitting in the waiting room of a doctor’s office. I opened the first pages and read until the story of Cain and Ab... »
The road to faith
I was born in 1955 into a family of blue-collar workers. At the time, Germany was in reconstruction mode after the devastation of WW2. “Work hard and grit your teeth” see... »
My Ebenezer stone
“What’s that?” my friend asked, pointing to a small brown stone on my coffee table. I had to smile, thinking how odd that plain little rock must look to her. Usually, peo... »
Martha gets a makeover
Have you ever felt unfairly characterized by others? Perhaps you’ve been in a situation where someone interacts with you on the basis of what they think they “know” about... »
Made whole!
When I was very new in the faith life, I spent some time in Nova Friburgo, in the mountains of Rio de Janeiro, along with two other missionaries. It’s a beautiful city wi... »
The Bible and you
A few years ago, it came to me that I had a superficial relationship with the Bible. I was a bit taken aback, since I had spent my entire life as a follower of the Bible.... »
My multi-tool
Recently I've been trying to read my Bible more. I've read through it cover to cover before, but something inspired me to read it again as part of a daily reading plan. I... »
Don’t wait
I wish you could meet my friend Vanessa! She’s the perfect example of the gospel bound in tennis shoes. When she began attending our Bible study, she was a single mom to... »
Jesus’ type of joy
On a very cold and gloomy morning, I woke up to find that I had overslept. With an angry groan, I rolled out of bed and began to groggily get dressed. Then I remembered!... »
Willie and the five-minute favor
We were just finishing up the distribution of 50 ten-kilo care packages to poor people—most of them widowed or disabled—in a hall at the edge of one of the largest slums... »