The dancing traffic controller
On a late Saturday afternoon, traffic crawled towards the congested, narrow intersection in the large metropolis. Pedestrians zigzagged through the lanes. Lines of cars w... »
Personal Accounts
The tribulations of the cyclist
We live on a country road on the outskirts of a small town. There are two ways to enter our village from our side of town, but both present several obstacles for cyclists... »
The story to end the excuses
Jesus gave a simple command: “Love your neighbor.” [[Matthew 19:19]] However, “neighbor” is pretty vague, and some wise guy asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” [[Luke 10:2... »
Spiritual weightlifting
One of my favorite forms of exercise is weightlifting. I’m no bodybuilder; I just do it to stay toned and keep in shape. I also find it interesting how akin weightlifting... »
The power of gratitude
In a video clip I watched on YouTube some time ago, one of the participants in a panel was talking about a trying time in her life that had led to serious depression. A f... »
It’s good to be alive!
When I was 17, I went with friends to spend carnival in the city of Salvador. We rented a very cheap house and slept on the floor like most of the locals. Even though our... »
Live with joy
As I was skimming headlines on an online news website, I saw this headline: “He’s a Fighter: Guo Youming Won’t Succumb to Rare Disease.” Intrigued, I clicked on the artic... »
The Giovanna solution
After four years and a 44-hour bus ride, I was finally visiting my daughter and son-in-law and seeing my young granddaughter, Giovanna, for the first time. She had my hea... »
Troubleshooting with God
On my second day on the job, my new supervisor handed me his laptop: “I need you to upgrade this to the latest Web-based operating system.” I was in a foreign country, su... »
Prayer secrets
In his book A Year of Living Prayerfully, Jared Brock describes in a humorous but poignant way his journey around the world to discover and explore how different believer... »
Anxiety and the deep blue sea
I grew up around creeks, lakes, and rivers, but when I was sixteen I went to Atlantic City, New Jersey, and saw the ocean for the first time. At the boardwalk the night w... »
Sometimes, you don’t need a miracle
I wasn’t born a citizen of the United States of America. Earning the right to be here was a process. I had to fill out piles of forms, spend hours on the phone with offic... »