READ: PROVERBS 1:1-7; 1 CORINTHIANS 1:30; JAMES 1:5-8; 3:13-18 The ball was out, right? It all happened so fast that I couldn’t tell. Did it touch the line? I tried to replay it in my head, but the decision wasn’t becoming any clearer. This was the biggest tennis game of the season. If we won, [...]

READ: GALATIANS 5:16-26 SMASH! TWANG! I picked up my tennis racket off the sidewalk and moped toward the bus. Surprisingly, throwing my racket to the ground hadn’t broken it. I had lost another match. My mind raced. “How could I miss that backhand? It should’ve been so easy!” I reviewed every mistake over and over, [...]

READ: JOHN 16:5-15; COLOSSIANS 1:3-14 The tennis team needed help. A lot of help. They desperately needed more players, and that’s why they asked me to join. I had never even held a tennis racquet before my first practice! Some of the rules of the game came pretty easy. Possessing what I would call an [...]

When I was little, I spent countless afternoons with my brother and cousins raking leaves into enormous piles—and then leaping through them joyously. We always had a blast until somebody found the ever-dreaded “prize.” We'd be rolling around, tackling each other, diving in and out, getting lost under the colorful crispy blanket. Then everything would [...]