"What, no mirror?" Pride chided Jewel. Jewel loathed mirrors! Just seeing her reflection would stir within her the haunting voices that had plagued her since childhood: "We wish you were never born." "You deserve every bad thing that …( read more )

On Friday, June 14th, 2002, our grandson was born. He was premature and had many complications. He died two days later on Sunday, Father's Day. You can imagine the grief, heartache, and loss that we all faced, especially our son and …( read more )

Hector is someone with whom we can all identify, for forgetting the past is a choice that we, too, will face. Hector kept thinking about the pastor's message that morning, entitled "Forgetting the past". Angrily, he thought, "Surely, …( read more )

Every year, my mother would take all four of us kids to the toy store to pick out a present. If we were not naughty but nice, Santa would deliver it on Christmas Eve. We eagerly set out in different directions to look. On one such …( read more )

"Please, will you ask her?" I pleaded with my older sister for the umpteenth time. Katrise lived next door. She was my older sister's best friend and was having her Sweet Sixteen birthday party in a few days. I wasn't invited; I was only …( read more )

My grandparents were wonderful people, and they had thirteen children! When I was a child, they lived within walking distance, and every day, I loved going to their house. They always found time for me and always made me feel so loved …( read more )

I'm not proud to say it, but I can identify with the apostle Paul in this statement. Before I was saved at the age of thirty, I was well acquainted with sin. But then, a prerequisite for salvation is that we must know and admit that we …( read more )

In my spirit, I heard it as plain as day: "Cheryl, I know thee well." It didn't seem like an accusation, but it was a statement that went straight to my soul and pierced me deeply. I have never forgotten it! I had been 30 years of age …( read more )

We were early that very first Sunday morning when my husband Marcelo and I walked into what would become our new church home. Sitting on the back row in her wheelchair, an elderly woman, excited to see us, motioned for us to come near. …( read more )

Sadly, I did it again. I unleashed my tongue when I should have bitten it. As my husband was leaving the house this morning, I made a remark to him that I was immediately sorry for, the moment after I had said it. His remark back to me …( read more )

Just recently, I received an email from a well-known Christian establishment. The email subject read, "Slightly Imperfect Gift Sale". The items had minor chips or scratches that caused them to fall short of perfection. It got me to …( read more )

I recall an instance in my life when I found forgiveness to be an extreme struggle to resolve. One evening, I had just finished reading Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37 . I closed my Bible, and said out loud, …( read more )

The invitation read: Because you have been falsely accused, ridiculed, mocked, and rejected, a table has been prepared for you in the presence of your enemies. Please accept our invitation. It went on to spell out the specifics: date, …( read more )

Several years ago, one of the members of a church we attended lost her son to a drive-by shooting. As she grieved, and as we all did, I prayed and asked God how I might be used to be a comfort to her, and the following story was dropped …( read more )

I was on my way to an appointment. I had only left the house and been driving for a matter of minutes, when I realized that I had forgotten something. I hurried back home, opened the front door and walked in. Immediately, I could sense …( read more )

Shortly after I came to know the Lord as my personal Saviour, I was going through an extremely difficult period in my life. The pot that was my life had been formed and fired, but it had imperfections that had to be corrected. It was then …( read more )