Michele experienced a mixture of emotions as her father neared the end of his life. She grieved when he said, “Honey, I won’t be here to walk you down the aisle.” But she assured him of her love, clinging to the hope she found in Hebr…

Though she enjoyed befriending and helping folks in her church’s seniors ministry, Carol found herself being picked on by its domineering leader. She felt so bothered by it that she had to seek counseling. She was advised to quit the ministry, bu…

Heartwood is the central supporting pillar of certain trees. Although dead, it won’t decay or lose strength while the outer, living layers are intact. Composed of fibers bound together by a chemical glue called lignin, heartwood can be as strong …

A scientific study revealed that watching TV programs featuring mean characters can actually lead people to be mean. Various forms of aggression—whether outright fighting or subtle gossip—primes viewers’ brains for similar behavior. T…

In one of her novels, Toni Morrison tells the story of Nel and Sula, girlfriends since childhood. But the friendship frays as Sula’s self-centeredness grows, culminating in her seducing Nel’s husband. “Why didn’t you think about…

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…

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 Sama…

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 ta…

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 w…

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 wh…