Your friends don't always understand what has you upset. You are unique, and when it comes to things that hurt you and your feelings about what is going on in the world, not everyone will be affected the same way you are. When you feel misunderstood, know that God sees you. Your family might get [...]

"Go in peace,” the worship leader said at the end of my first chapel service at my Christian university. I had never heard the phrase before, but after hearing it at every following chapel, I learned that some churches close every service with the words “go in peace.” It was amusing at first to anticipate [...]

Recently, I was on a flight from Chicago. Shortly after takeoff, we reached our cruising altitude. The pilot warned us about some possible turbulence. "No big deal," I thought. Suddenly, the plane dropped. A lot. It probably lasted barely two seconds. The oxygen masks didn't even fall from the ceiling. But there was an audible [...]

I used to have a little baby bird that I raised all on my own. Her parents neglected her since she was disabled and not as strong as the rest of her siblings. I fed her many times a day, including getting up twice a night (even on school nights) so that she would get [...]

I recently learned of two newborn babies who died, mere days and weeks after being born. Having a baby of my own, learning of such tragedies breaks my heart. I look at my sweet baby boy and hug him a little tighter, thankful for the gift of a healthy baby. But I can't help but [...]

The psalmists weren't afraid to admit when they were afraid. They even talked about feeling abandoned by God. Some of my favorite psalms are those that cry out desperately to God. You can feel the writers' authenticity. You can feel their struggle. It's easy for me to relate to what was going on with them. [...]

I swam to an old sea cave before the battle. Our odds of winning were beyond scary. Soon my kingdom could be enslaved to the Sinades again. There was already talk of surrender. Once inside, I removed my helmet and wept the salt into the water. My armor clanked as I fell to the sea [...]

June 4, 1942. Commander Mitsuo Fuchida, leader of the Pearl Harbor attack, was steaming across the ocean on the aircraft carrier Akagi, alongside the powerful Japanese navy. Six months after crippling the United States Pacific Fleet in Hawaii, he was poised to destroy another target—the US airfields of Midway. Fuchida felt invincible—except for a ruptured [...]

As a daughter of missionaries, I had memorized John 3:16 in both English and Portuguese. I knew that God loved me and that Christ had died for me. But it still felt like a generic kind of love. So, God loves me. But with what kind of love does He love me? In a letter [...]

"Laila, don't go in!” I yell, as my friend opens the door of an abandoned hut in the hills. “You can't.” Ignoring my pleas, she whispers, her dark eyes staring back at me, “It's not what you think. I have to, and you will too.” Within seconds, the door creaks shut behind her and is [...]