As an elementary school teacher, I knew each student had a need for significance. Feeling they were important in my classroom made a big impact on their motivation to succeed academically. With twenty-five children in one room, I knew it was all too easy for the quiet ones to fall through the cracks. So every…
The sunlight filtered through the trees, creating a kaleidoscope of shadows on the trail. Our footsteps were hushed on the dirt path, and the only other sounds carried on the breeze were the songs of both bird and man. I didn’t understand the words of either, but I wanted to hear more of both. As…
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” (Col. 3:1-2 NIV) My husband and I recently bought a new-to-us home! We hadn’t been looking long, and it was the…
I want to take this opportunity to admit something I am jealous of: skills. Specifically, handyman skills. The kind of skills that enable you to fix things—when your toilet breaks or you need a picture hung, want a new fan or your oil changed, you just do it. All by yourself! You see something on…
“In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matt. 5:16 NIV) What on earth are we here for? It’s an age-old question, a popular cliché. Likely, we all ask ourselves this question at one point or another. I personally still…
Self-interest is restrained within due bounds when love supervenes; for then it rejects evil things altogether, prefers better things to those merely good, and cares for the good only on account of the better. ~St. Bernard of Clairvaux, On Loving God I read this quote one morning during my devotion time, then turned to where…