“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” —Mark 8:36 (KJV) What if you had everything you ever wanted—wealth, influence, success, recognition, and comfort—but lost the most important thing in the process? Jesus asked a question that reaches far…
We are often identified by what we do. We are mothers, daughters, wives, sisters, teachers, business owners, ministry leaders, friends, volunteers, and so much more. We may introduce ourselves by our occupation, family role, accomplishments, or ministry. But there is a deeper question—one that reaches beyond everything we do: Who…
“And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart.” — Deuteronomy 8:2, KJV Israel stood at the edge of a new season. After forty years…
Built to Stand Storms have a way of revealing what we cannot see. When heavy rain falls and floodwaters rise, the beauty of a house matters little if its foundation cannot withstand the pressure. A home may look strong from the outside, but when the ground beneath it gives way,…
Mountains envelop more than 80 percent of China’s Hunan province, leaving many villages isolated from one another. Among these jagged peaks, Nüshu was formed. Experts believe Nüshu is the only writing system in the world created and used exclusively by women. Meaning “women’s writing,” Nüshu was a way for women…
A story is told about an old mariner’s chart on display in the British Museum in London. The map, drawn in 1525, shows the North American coastline. The cartographer wrote several intriguing notations on areas of the map representing unexplored regions. He wrote: “Here be giants,” “Here be fiery scorpions,”…
For most of her life, Maud Lewis lived in a pint-sized, one-room house near Digby, Nova Scotia, with no running water or electricity. The 10-by-9-foot cottage became her canvas, and she painted almost everything. Birds and butterflies fluttered across the door. Vibrant flowers covered the windows, the walls, cupboards, the…
“We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach…
MORNING EXCURSION One morning, my husband attended a business meeting at the church in Jabal Amman, Jordan. They discussed church matters that did not require my attendance. During previous research, I had discovered that Rujm al-Malfouf, a largely unknown archaeological site, was only about a mile away. Since it was…