Lavishness leapt up at us the minute we signed for delivery. Three oversized boxes awaited us at our Taiwanese gatehouse, and we were glad both of us came to collect. Their bulk and weight would have proved an unmanageable challenge for just one person. A couple we knew in grad school had asked us to send their church our family’s …
The height and depth and breadth of parables happen around us all the time. But sometimes, you must wait a lifetime to realize the significance of the moment. Kernels of truth dropped in mundane soil will bear fruit only when given space in your memory. My parable starts with a sticky preschooler I knew well and was trying to raise …
There’s a dimension where all things are possible. A realm where the tangled becomes loose, and the unfeasible becomes achievable. Images of the place appear in our dreams, but we seldom access the sphere during daylight hours. We’re vaguely aware of its presence, yet we rarely enter. This place is very close, yet not in our immediate element. Whether located …
“In the crushing, In the pressing, You are making new wine.” (Lyrics to Brooke Ligertwood’s “New Wine”) Personally, I cringe at the thought of the crushing. Pressing hurts the fruit. So, given the choice, I prefer to avoid the process. Yet, as I ponder the operation of wine production, there is no product without a winepress. As I researched, I found …
By: Kandy Persall Ever since I can remember, Ray Tinney has been in my life. He married my sister the autumn after my first birthday, and my devotion to him began. When I was eight, a little event lifted that devotion to pure infatuation. It happened one Saturday morning after my friend Scarlet spent the night with me. At that …
Often, the best words on the page are the ones only used once. Explicitly crafted by the author to surprise the reader with insight, a single well-chosen word can open a glorious portal for inspiration. How much more thought-provoking is a word unique to an entire book? I recently stumbled across one such word in the epistle to the Hebrews. Used nowhere …
By: Linda Merriott Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7) During this pandemic, I have talked to many people who have been full of fear. It …
Holy Father, Why am I so opposed to going through the fire? You promised that You would never fail me or forsake me (Joshua 24:20), but somehow I still have my doubts. I confess that when I look back on my life, I see Your complete faithfulness. But then again, there is tomorrow. What’s the deal? It’s that trust thing, …
Over the last several years, opinions have bombarded me with many ideas. Every thought shared with me contains strong assumptions toward a premise, and I’ve watched friends argue with friends regarding conclusions. On the media, one outlet will trumpet one point of view while another heralds the opposite. Even strong Christians find themselves swimming in a river of mixed reviews, …
By: Amanda Taylor Walker For the past six weeks, I have been in a cycle of fear, faith, rationale, and back to fear. For most of my life, fear has been a struggle for me. But I have not experienced this type of cycle before now. In my battle, it has been a fear versus faith cycle. However, in this world …
