ldquo Are you still upset that I want to reduce the size of your favorite department rdquo Evelyn rsquo s manager asked ldquo No rdquo She tightened her jaw She was more frustrated that he seemed to be teasing her about it She rsquo d been trying to help the company by finding ways to draw in different interest groups but limited space hellip [... more]

In an article on mentoring Hannah Schell explains that mentors need to support challenge and inspire but ldquo first and perhaps foremost a good mentor sees you Recognition not in terms of awards or publicity but in the sense of simply lsquo being seen rsquo is a basic human need rdquo People need to be recognized known and believed in In the New Testament Barnabas whose name means ldquo Son of Encouragement rdquo had a knack for ldquo seeing rdquo people around him In Acts he was willing to give Saul a chance when the other disciples ldquo were all [... more]

Elvis Summers answered the door to find Smokey a frail woman who stopped by regularly to ask for empty cans to return for cash This money was her primary source of income Elvis got an idea ldquo Could you show me where you sleep rdquo he asked Smokey led him to a narrow patch of dirt about two feet wide next to a house Moved Summers built her a ldquo tiny house rdquo mdash a simple shelter that provided space for her to sleep safely Summers ran with the idea He started a GoFundme page and teamed with local churches [... more]

Something that sounded like firecrackers roused Joanne from sleep Glass shattered Wishing she didn rsquo t live alone she got up to see what was going on The dark streets were empty and the house seemed to be okay mdash then she saw the broken mirror Investigators found a bullet only a half-inch from the gas line If it had struck the line she probably wouldn rsquo t have made it out alive Later they discovered it was a stray bullet from nearby apartments but Joanne was afraid to be at home She prayed for peace and once the glass [... more]

In Alyssa Mendoza received a surprising email from her father in the middle of the night The message had instructions about what to do for her mother on her parents rsquo twenty-fifth anniversary Why was this shocking Alyssa rsquo s father had passed away ten months earlier She discovered that he had written and scheduled the email while he was sick knowing he might not be there He rsquo d also arranged and paid for flowers to be sent to his wife for upcoming years on her birthday future anniversaries and Valentine rsquo s Day This story could stand as [... more]

I dropped to my knees and let my tears fall to the floor ldquo God why aren rsquo t you taking care of me rdquo I cried It was during the COVID- pandemic in I rsquo d been laid-off for almost a month and something had gone wrong with my unemployment application I hadn rsquo t received any money yet and on top of that the stimulus check the US government had promised hadn rsquo t arrived Deep down I trusted that God would work out everything I believed He truly loved me and would take care of me but [... more]

In an outbreak of the coronavirus left the world in fear People were quarantined countries were put under lockdown flights and large events were canceled Those living in areas with no known cases still feared they might get the virus Graham Davey an expert on anxiety believes that negative news broadcasts are ldquo likely to make you sadder and more anxious rdquo A meme that rsquo s been circulating on social media shows a man watching the news on TV and asking how to stop worrying In response another person in the room reached over and flipped off the TV [... more]

One year for vacation Bible school Ken rsquo s church decided to bring in live animals to illustrate the Bible story When Ken arrived to help he was asked to bring a sheep inside He had to practically drag the sheep by rope into the church gymnasium But as the week went on it became less reluctant to follow him By the end of the week Ken didn rsquo t have to hold the rope anymore he just called the sheep and it followed knowing it could trust him In the New Testament Jesus compares Himself to a shepherd stating [... more]

ldquo If I touched a Bible it would catch fire in my hands rdquo my English professor at a community college said My heart sank The novel we rsquo d been reading that morning referenced a Bible verse and when I pulled out my Bible to look it up she noticed and commented My professor seemed to think she was too sinful to be forgiven Yet I wasn rsquo t bold enough to tell her about God rsquo s love mdash and that the Bible tells us we can always seek God rsquo s forgiveness There rsquo s an example [... more]