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... »
Personal Accounts
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... »
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... »
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... »
My career coach
When I graduated from college, I had my heart set on becoming a professional full-time translator. For four years, I’d devoted every bit of spare time to studying my lang... »
The making of a violin
One morning, I walked into my music teacher’s classroom to start my violin lesson and noticed two violins on the desk. My eye was immediately drawn to the first one, whic... »
The baby in the other incubator
Charity, an Activated reader for many years, had a well-paying job in the banking industry. She had recently finished her second master’s degree from a prestigious intern... »
Getting to know Jesus
In my quest to know Jesus better, I have come to the simple conclusion that reading the Gospels regularly and trying to put His teachings and example into practice is the... »