Not everyone will have a happy Thanksgiving…especially this year. Many are out of work, have issues relating to health, children and family.  Some are mourning a loved one, others are facing the holiday season as a divorcee for the first time.  What happens to thanksgiving and praise when peace disintegrates into chaos? I’ve been through...

As a child, I never imagined that one day, I would suffer from chronic pain. I was an active kid, a teen who loved physical activity. I thought I would remain healthy forever, but sometimes, life takes a detour. A few months after the birth of my third child, my right side started trembling whenever I made the slightest move. Inexplicable weakness,...

Alone and discouraged, I sat staring at a computer screen. I was frustrated by the way my life had turned out. I’d worked hard to hold onto remnants of hope for my marriage, but each day that summer I could feel it slipping through my fingers.  I felt so alone.  God was still there, I knew, but there was a longing for people who would talk back....

“Volunteers. We need volunteers!” My pastor’s voice clapped with conviction. I sat in the back of the church and watched as the shuffle began. Young people got up from their seats, and took their places under signs that read: “Nursing Home,” “Hospital Visitation,” and “Coffee House.” My friend Alyssa and I made our way over...

“If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.” ~Mother Theresa He is unaware of my presence. His eyes are closed, the patterned quilt above him faintly rising and falling. The small clock radio at his bedside blares an old country station, but the silence is overwhelming. Grandchildren innocently look out from photographs haphazardly...

“I’m sorry. I can’t find the heartbeat,” she said.  I stared in shock at the ultrasound machine. I couldn’t take my eyes off of it.  It hurt too much to think about it. “What?” my mind screamed. “What are you saying?”  But really I didn’t want to know.  I stared at the screen willing the baby to live.  A month before,...

A brand new year stretches in front of us... a fresh start; a new page to write the journey of our lives on.  New opportunities and new challenges await each of us. Here are five simple steps to help keep your heart light as you navigate the road ahead. L…… Leisure Make sure you schedule some leisure time for yourself.  Especially in the...