I held the Bible open in my hands and looked at the faces of the children gathered around the table in the Sunday School room. These 4th and 5th grade students are a delightful mix of extroverts and introverts, and I’m always charmed at their love and care for one another and how they interact. Today we were talking about God’s long story, how we are in the middle of it, and how we can get to know Him by paying attention to how He relates to His people. The Bible tells us a great deal about some of the people in His story, but it tells us even more…

The house is hushed. The gentle thrum of the air conditioner seems like the slow-paced breathing of repose. Outside there is no movement among the trees, and the windchime is silent. A quiet evening. A gentle entry into the week of days ahead. I am grateful for the stillness and the chance to reflect on God’s faithful goodness. Remembering Him and all He has done fortifies my soul with gratitude and brings to mind the ones He has used at different times in my journey. As representatives of His kindness and agents of His mercy and grace, they are precious to me. Indeed, when I needed Him most, they were…

I walked around the tables observing the artistic expression of the ladies as they applied paint to paper. There were various degrees of skill, but all were equally engaged with hope and delight. The meeting room had a wall of windows overlooking the large stone patio and the lush valley with tree-topped hills beyond. We were mid-way through a ministry retreat in a mountain lodge, and this activity had been scheduled as a break from meetings and small group discussions. They chatted happily among themselves, a group of old and new friends intent upon sharing this time with God and with each other. I had been asked to facilitate the…