Broken and Shattered

It was a day of bees in the clover and bolls on the cotton. While heat radiated from the asphalt, the constant drip of the outdoor facet kept the fresh mint alive into the autumn. Windmill blades creaked overhead, and two orphaned goats kicked in the stall. It was an Indian summer in West Texas, and I was determined to delight …

What Do We do With Unforgiveness?

By: Linda Merriott Recently, I was extremely hurt by several people I consider dear. I have always been able to forgive fairly easily, but this time I did not seem able to forgive truly. This went on for several weeks. I would pray and ask God to help me, getting up every morning to speak my forgiveness aloud. I would …

Seen, Known, and Loved

By Magen Thetford Selling used items on Facebook brings zero joy to my heart. I’d rather not deal with the hassle of communicating back and forth several times with someone over an item that I’m going to sell for a few dollars. But I had a bulky crib stacked in the corner of a closet for the last year, and …

The Cracked Pot

Without thinking, I reached for the chipped bowl. My mother and grandmother used it extensively years before, and now it is my favorite too. Despite the hair-line crack, it remains my go-to container for meal preparation. I knew it was clean because I’d used it just a few hours prior. In fact, it was still in the dish drainer, having …

Broken and Torn

You might say it started with a severed ear.  With a rush to colonize the West Indies, strained relationships between Britain and Spain escalated over the fight for resources in the area. During a routine trade journey near Jamaica, the British ship Rebecca was halted by a Spanish coast guard. Spanish soldiers demanded boarding rights on the British brig, claiming …