In the 2010 Zheng-Kai Marathon, elite runner Jaqueline Kiplimo spotted a disabled Chinese runner having trouble opening a water bottle. The runner had no hands and was dehydrated. Kiplimo not only helped him with the water bottle, she also slowed her pace and ran with him from about Mile 6 to Mile 23, aiding him…

Barbeque refers to an all-day cooking process resulting in smoky, juicy, fall-apart tender goodness. Yum. The key to good barbeque? Long. Slow. Heat. The same is true for patience.

Some people like to stir it up. Add some drama, then watch the fallout.  Reality TV thrives on this kind of strife.  In real life, the entertainment value drops. Significantly. If you have stirrers in your family, you know how much prayer goes into family get-togethers. Please God, let there be peace! “For as churning cream…

Favorites. We mesh with some people like puzzle pieces snapping into place. Seamless. Easy. Click.  Others jar us, grate our rough edges, and stretch our patience. Uncomfortable. Difficult. Scraaape.  The apostle James gives no quarter, “My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism . . . If you really…

The world is known for divisions: culture, education, socio-economic status, race, language, gender.  The early Church was marked by love—and oneness: All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their…

I attended a writing workshop this summer where best-selling author Angela Hunt spoke. She used lots of movie examples in discussing the numerous items necessary for good fiction and she mentioned a movie with Ryan Gosling called Lars and the Real Girl. Just a heads up. Lars and the Real Girl will be one of the strangest…

Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and, “A stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for. 1…

Refusing to love? This quote from the author of A Wrinkle in Time stopped me. “The refusal to love is the only unbearable thing.” Madeleine L’Engle Like a tiny gift that gets lost behind the larger packages and is only found when the brittle Christmas tree is hauled away, I knew I had discovered something…