“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock…” Matthew 7:24:27. If you’re reading this from the United States, chances are you’ve been hearing about the winter storm all week. It’s been impossible to miss. Winter warnings. Emergency alerts. Non-stop coverage. I have friends who even bought generators, and I considered purchasing one myself. I made a quick trip to Costco for “just a few things,” and it was busier than it was during the great COVID toilet paper crisis of 2020. People were everywhere with their carts overflowing with supplies. I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I stood in a line of at least thirty-five people for fifteen minutes waiting for a rotisserie chicken. A chicken. Apparently, if the power goes out, we will survive on faith, bottled water, and Costco poultry. Everyone was preparing well in advance. They were grabbing what they believed they would need to hunker down, ride out the…

Exodus 2:6, “When she (Pharaoh’s daughter) had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews’ children.” I believe that Moses’ mother had great faith in God. I can only assume that she was strategic and that the decisions she made were purposeful. The Bible isn’t descriptive about this instance, but I believe that Jochebed didn’t haphazardly wake up one morning and randomly make an ark of bulrushes. She was probably preparing for this day for months, to give her son the best chance of survival. I can imagine that she studied the different pathways of the river and the ones that lead to the palace of Pharaoh. Jochebed probably knew the Egyptians believed that the Nile was a god who gave life. It’s possible that when Pharaoh’s daughter saw the baby boy, she thought it was a gift of life from her god. I truly think that Jochebed was an inventive person. Exodus 2:9, “And Pharaoh’s daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the women took the child, and…

 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” Romans 12:1 The Titanic was designed by some of the most experienced engineers of its time and built with the most advanced technology available. It was considered unsinkable. So when it sank, the world was stunned. What many don’t realize is that during the design phase, engineers proposed using a newer, larger type of davit—equipment capable of lowering lifeboats over the side of the ship. With these davits, the Titanic could have carried up to 64 lifeboats… enough to save more than 4,000 people, exceeding the ship’s total capacity. The davits were approved. The lifeboats were not. The White Star Line chose to install only 16 wooden lifeboats, which was the minimum requirement set by the Board of Trade. Though the ship could carry over 3,500 passengers and crew, there were lifeboats for only 1,178 people—just 33% of its capacity. They broke no laws. They violated no regulations. They met the standard. But the standard wasn’t enough. The decision was partly aesthetic. More lifeboats would clutter the deck and disrupt the luxury experience.…

The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. Psalm 92:12-13, NIV. When I was a little girl growing up in Canada, I was part of an environmental club at my elementary school. For those who know me, this will come as no surprise. One year, our school launched an initiative to plant more trees. Each student was given a small evergreen and invited to replant it wherever they chose. Excited, I brought my little tree home and carefully selected what I thought was the perfect spot in our backyard. I planted it with hope and expectation—but within a week, my perfect tree began to die. Determined not to give up on it, my dad uprooted the evergreen, placed it in the back of our Jeep, and drove me to the forest near one of our favorite fishing spots. There, surrounded by towering trees, we dug a deep hole, replanted my sapling, watered it well, and hoped it would take root. Every so often, my dad and I would return to that spot. We would walk through the forest…