Month: October 2013

Beyond the Hills

By Trevor Shockey, 20, Indiana USA Even when I can’t see Beyond the valley Of my finite world You still love me Your love reaches me From beyond the hills You see me Even when I cannot see You You tend to me Even when I don’t know that’s true Beyond the hills You stretch [...]

Let’s tackle some of these tough issues of faith

There are times when it feels like the facts of your faith collide with the facts of your life. Maybe you’re struggling with some tough questions right now, and can’t seem to find the answers. Join us in this faith-building conversation.

Stand Firm

As our final project for a high school earth science class, a friend and I built a stream table. With extensive help from my father, we built a long plywood box with a hinge in the middle. Then we lined it with plastic and filled it with sand. At one end we attached a hose.

The Life We’d Like To See

The annual Texas Book Festival in Austin draws thousands of people who enjoy browsing for books, attending discussions led by acclaimed authors, and gleaning advice from professional writers. At one such festival, an author of young adult fiction told aspiring writers, “Write the book that you want to find on the shelf.”

A Person Of Influence

If you Google “person of influence,” the search will take you to various lists of “the most influential people in the world.” These lists usually include political leaders; business entrepreneurs and athletes; along with people in science, the arts, and entertainment.

Re-Creation

Chris Simpson’s life used to be consumed by hate. After he and his wife lost their first child, he was confused and angry. He directed that anger toward various ethnic groups and covered his body with hate-filled tattoos.

How to embrace the life of faith and keep our eyes on Jesus

Salvation comes the moment we accept the promises of God. But taking that first step of faith isn’t always easy!

The struggle involved when deciding to follow Jesus

Faith doesn’t always come easy. Many people need to see physical proof in order to embrace the Christian faith as their own.

Childhood Beginnings

Last summer, our church invited a young man to join the staff. As Caleb shared how he grew up in Costa Rica while his family was serving Christ there, he reflected on the words of 2 Timothy 3:14-17. From his childhood, he reminisced, he had known the Bible.

Reflections On Windows

Much of the scenery I saw during our vacation in Alaska was through the windows of moving vehicles. I was thankful for glass that allowed me to see the beauty while remaining warm and dry. But the windows also presented a challenge. When it rained, water drops on the outside obscured the view. When the temperature changed, condensation caused fog to develop on the inside.

Looking Down

After I had minor eye surgery, the nurse told me, “Don’t look down for the next 2 weeks. No cooking or cleaning.” The last part of those instructions was a little easier to take than the first part! The incisions needed to heal, and she didn’t want me to put any unnecessary pressure on them by looking down.

Losing And Finding Our Lives In Him

When Mother Teresa died in 1997, people marveled again at her example of humble service to Christ and to people in great need. She had spent 50 years ministering to the poor, sick, orphaned, and dying through the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India.

My Role Model is a PIG

Text by Lau Jue Hua, Thoughts by Olivia Ow Consider this: Everyone needs a role model. Where would Barack Obama be without Martin Luther King to lead the way? What would Spiderman be if Uncle Ben was not there to teach him that important phrase, “With great power comes great responsibility”? We subconsciously look up [...]

Risks and Rescue

On September 7, 1838, Grace Darling, the daughter of an English lighthouse keeper, spotted a shipwreck and survivors offshore. Together, she and her father courageously rowed their boat a mile through rough waters to rescue several people. Grace became a legend for her compassionate heart and steady hand in risking her life to rescue others.

The Campaign

Each year young people in our community participate in a “Be Nice” campaign spearheaded by a mental health organization. In one of the events in 2012, 6,000 students spelled out the words BE NICE with their bodies on their schools’ sports fields. One principal said, “We want students to come to school and learn without the distraction of fear or sadness or uneasiness around their peers. We are working hard to make sure students are lifting each other up, rather than tearing each other down.”