My fingers shook. The rough rock walls around me didn't afford many hand holds. My feet pressed against the sides to keep me from falling down this cold, dark shaft. My knees were scraped, my hands bloody. I lifted my head again to look at the scrap of light far above me. No one was [...]

It was the event of the season! I eagerly awaited my invite but it never came. Before this event was even a possibility, I had poured into this person. God laid it on my heart to encourage, pray, and uplift—and I did just that for well over a year. When a friend of mine was [...]

In John 5:1-9, Jesus goes to Jerusalem, to a place called the pool of Bethesda. The author, John, who was probably with Jesus at the time, tells us there were “a great number of disabled people” (verse 3) at the pool of Bethesda. Some of these people were blind, some couldn't walk, and some were [...]

Sleep hasn't come easily to me lately. One of the most calming things I have found to do in the night, when my mind won't shut down or I am dealing with anxiety, is to open the Bible app on my phone and read a chapter or two. In the night, when the world is [...]

I happen to live in a coastal area that is very windy. Oftentimes, the strong winds cause a lot of destruction by blowing away house roofs and destroying trees and crops in the gardens. At one time, the winds ravaged my maize garden, leaving the maize plants bent. So, I had to get sticks to [...]

The chaos pressed around me, weighing down each step. The air was thick with it—tendrils of black vapor darting this way and that. I trudged forward, barely able to see even a foot in front of me, following the voice. Somehow, the soft voice had cut through the ever-present shrieks of pain and evil that [...]

Parents can promise anything to a child. And that child can believe that promise. Sometimes, parents do not, or cannot, keep their promises, but there is one who always keeps His promises, and that is God our Father. Here are some of His precious and treasured promises: God promised to send the Messiah to save [...]

We all experience ups and downs, but sometimes, what we are experiencing seems so much harder than what we see others experiencing. Sometimes, we feel like our pain is greater, that our loss is worse. Other times, we might feel like our pain is small compared to others, and we hesitate to acknowledge that we [...]

My breath started to grow short, and I felt panic rising in my chEsther While my parents were taking a nap on a warm Sunday afternoon, I was playing dress-up in my bedroom. The jacket I'd shoved my arms into had fit just fine the year before, but now I had obviously outgrown it. I'd [...]

A Pharisee (a Jewish religious leader) named Simon invited Jesus to supper. When Jesus arrived, Simon didn't offer Him water to wash His feet or head. Dirty feet in sandals and itchy heads need water to wash off the dust. It was also customary for the host to offer their guest a kiss on the [...]