I don rsquo t remember a time when my mom Dorothy was in good health For many years as a brittle diabetic her blood sugar was wildly erratic Complications developed and her damaged kidneys necessitated permanent dialysis Neuropathy and broken bones resulted in the use of a wheelchair Her eyesight began to regress toward blindness But as her body failed her Mom rsquo s prayer life grew more vigorous She spent hours praying for others to know and experience the love of God Precious words of Scripture grew sweeter to her Before her eyesight faded she wrote a letter to [... more]

In the last few days of my dad rsquo s life one of the nurses dropped by his room and asked me if she could give him a shave As Rachel gently pulled the razor across his face she explained ldquo Older men of his generation like to have a neat shave every day rdquo Rachel had seen a need and acted on her instinct to show kindness dignity and respect to someone The tender care she provided reminded me of my friend Julie who still paints her elderly mother rsquo s nails because it rsquo s important to her [... more]

Oliver Cromwell known as the ldquo Protector of England rdquo was a military commander in the seventeenth century It was common practice during those days for people of importance to have their portraits painted And it wasn rsquo t unusual for an artist to avoid depicting the less attractive aspects of a person rsquo s face Cromwell however wanted nothing to do with a likeness that would flatter him He cautioned the artist ldquo You must paint me just as I am mdash warts and all mdash or I won rsquo t pay you rdquo nbsp Apparently the artist complied [... more]

When I was a teenager my mom painted a mural on our living room wall which stayed there for several years It showed an ancient Greek scene of a ruined temple with white columns lying on their sides a crumbling fountain and a broken statue As I looked at the Hellenistic architecture that had once held great beauty I tried to imagine what had destroyed it I was curious especially when I began studying about the tragedy of once great and thriving civilizations that had decayed and crumbled from within The sinful depravity and wanton destruction we see around us [... more]

As I drove home after lunch with my best friend I thanked God out loud for her She knows me and loves me in spite of things I don rsquo t love about myself She rsquo s one of a small circle of people who accept me as I am mdash my quirks habits and screw-ups Still there are parts of my story I resist sharing even with her and others that I love mdash times where I rsquo ve clearly not been the hero times I rsquo ve been judgmental or unkind or unloving But God does know my [... more]

Caden a young man of almost eighteen was anticipating attending his first choice of a college on an academic scholarship He was involved in a campus ministry in high school and looked forward to participating in a similar ministry in the new environment He rsquo d saved money from his part-time job and also had an excellent lead on a new job He rsquo d established some great goals and everything was coming together exactly on schedule And then in the spring of a global health crisis changed everything The school let Caden know that his first semester would probably [... more]

On his twelfth Christmas the boy eagerly awaited the opening of the gifts under the tree He was yearning for a new bike but his hopes were dashed mdash the last present he received was a dictionary On the first page he read ldquo To Charles from Mother and Daddy With love and high hopes for your best work in school rdquo In the next decade Chuck did do well in school He graduated from college and later aviation training and became a pilot working overseas fulfilling his passion to help people in need and to share Jesus with them [... more]

Heidi and Jeff came home from an overseas work assignment and settled for several months near family in the state of Michigan mdash just in time for winter They were coming from a hot climate and this would be the first time many of their ten children had seen the natural beauty of snow But winter weather requires a lot of warm outerwear including coats mittens and boots For a large family it was quite an undertaking just to outfit them for the bitterly cold months ahead But God provided First a neighbor brought over footwear then snow pants then [... more]