Heaven’s best
I was fifteen and looked forward to Fridays, as it meant a trip to the beach. Every week during the summer, our youth group put on an impromptu performance of songs and s... »
Personal Accounts
Baking prayers
Prayer often works like baking a loaf of bread: You’ve got to mix the ingredients, knead the dough, proof the dough, then bake the finished loaf. Step one: mix the ingred... »
Two-minute prayers
I’ve often struggled to make time to pray. Though my wife and I pray together each morning and before bed, I find myself neglecting that regular “talking with Jesus” thro... »
Candles and prayers
There are some verses I’ve had a very difficult time with. One of them is “Pray continually.” [[1 Thessalonians 5:17 NIV]] That verse is often on my mind, and I’ve learne... »
My dishwashing partner
Some of my most significant moments with God have been with my hands in dishwater. For many years, I’ve been in the habit of starting my morning with devotional reading a... »
Three faith-boosting lessons
It began one morning when I disagreed with something my wife said. It was during one of those trying patches where you find yourself irritable and finding fault with ever... »
Whose time?
Not long ago, I confided to a friend that I felt overwhelmed with stress and anxiety over my work. She suggested that I spend more time meditating on God's goodness and s... »
Simple prayer
Several years ago, my life was very uncertain. And in the middle of that loss, crisis, and stress, I began to question everything, down to the very foundation of my faith... »
The encouragement experiment
At some point in our lives, we’ve all had someone say a few words of encouragement that radically changed our day or the course of events, just because of the extra inspi... »
The thorn factor
I don’t think that God intended any relationships to be perfect. I think of it as the “thorn” factor that He allows into the equation—that element that we shrink from, bu... »
Bitter for sweet
The sound of Mother’s eggbeater drew me to the kitchen. There I found her at work, and began to watch. This was my chance to find out what she put into that chocolate cak... »
Start with the frog!
I’m someone who tends to go by inspiration, and I’ve long been bothered by my scattered approach to setting goals, so I was searching for an effective way to make it thro... »
Breaking point
What amazed me the first time I saw an oil refinery up close was the intricate maze of pipes. Besides the complexity of it, one wonders how it can all be maintained safel... »