Words That Honor God

My friend, Alex, a book editor, checked his inbox, anticipating an angry email from an author. He’d been working with a prominent business leader on his manuscript for months. Unexpectedly, the publisher had decided to halt the publication of the book due to...

Living Water of Christ

As I gazed at the intricate etching Christ and the Woman of Samaria by Dutch artist Rembrandt, two interesting details caught my eye. The first was Jesus’ humble pose—leaning over, with His hand over His heart—as he addressed the Samaritan woman. By...

Serving God, Not Self

The ancient Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses II thought so much of himself that he had numerous structures served up in his honor, including many monuments that captured his physical features. One, the colossal statue of Ramesses II, stands thirty-six feet tall and weighs...

Anchored in God

It’s morning, so my husband clicks open his phone to his favorite gospel song, “My Soul Is Anchored.” The lyrics express hope in God in turbulent times. Dan sings along, the words warning of billows rolling and breakers dashing. But we don’t...

Prepared to Help

My friend needed to practice parallel parking before her driving test that was coming up soon. I was praying about and looking for a safe place to teach her when the idea came to go to a neighborhood church with an ample parking lot. After we set up what turned out to...

Rhythms of Joy

A scientific study—which sought to explore how much of people’s musical sensitivity is cultural and how much of it is instinctual—played drum rhythms for newborn babies while monitoring their brain wave activity. Occasionally, the researchers would...