When Push Comes to Shove

Wednesday, September 12, 2012 | Comments (1) | Written by Laura Z. Sowers
In retrospect, I'd do some things differently. I suspect that most people have some regrets if they're over the age of 12. There is a huge range of regrets -- some are irreparable and tragic, and others nag us with doubts and what-ifs. Maybe we wish wed pressed on to get our college degree, or we regret a hasty commitment made before fully counting the cost. We may have declined a great opportunity out of fear and worry, or carelessly involved ourselves with a toxic person,... read more...

In Praise of a Hidden Life

Tuesday, June 19, 2012 | Comments (1) | Written by Laura Z. Sowers
I like hidden things. I like secret compartments in roll-top desks, ivy-covered doors in garden walls, root systems under trees, ancient treasures scattered on the ocean floor, catacombs etched beneath massive cities, lockets bearing tiny photos, money belts, and secret doors in paneled libraries. In summer, I am reminded of the hidden life of flowers and plants -- out of sight during the winter, they gather energy to push toward the sun in vibrant boldness as if to say, "Here I am,... read more...

Closet Encounters

Monday, March 19, 2012 | Comments (0) | Written by Laura Z. Sowers
There are countless ways of measuring love. It could be in diamonds, love poems, romantic proposals, fabulous weddings, elaborate honeymoons, or promises of eternal devotion. For me, true love made itself known in a series of closets. To explain this, I have to go back to age nineteen. At that tender age, I already had a miserable track record when it came to love. I was raised in the 1950s and 60s when divorce carried a huge stigma. When my parents divorced, we were detached from the... read more...

Casting Cares

Friday, January 13, 2012 | Comments (0) | Written by Laura Z. Sowers
When I was young, Dad sometimes took me fishing. As I stood beside him on the bank of the stream, he would thoughtfully "read" the water: "There's a nice little pocket over there where the bank's been undercut by the current." After more study, he might say, "Downstream a ways there's a riffle. Old Mr. Trout just loves those sunny shallows." Then, in hip waders and hat, with his fishing rod held to the side, he stepped through the rushing water and over the rocks until he steadied... read more...

Thank Goodness

Tuesday, November 22, 2011 | Comments (0) | Written by Laura Z. Sowers
When I was in grade school, I had a wonderful friend named Gwendolyn.  She was four years my senior and as beautiful as her name. Gwen had luscious brunette hair that fell well below her shoulders. She was born with a cleft palate, and even after several surgeries, she purred a little when she spoke. As the adopted only-child of older, wealthy parents, she was given the very best money could buy. At the time, my family lived in a two-bedroom apartment, and I shared a room with my... read more...

Magnificent Makeover

Friday, October 28, 2011 | Comments (1) | Written by Laura Z. Sowers
One of my favorite guilty pleasures is watching the show What Not to Wear. For the uninitiated, the premise is that someone is nominated for a head-to-toe makeover that requires throwing out all their old clothes and going on a shopping extravaganza in New York City to buy a new wardrobe. So far so good. But there's a catch: all this comes with a large dose of humiliation, shopping rules that must be followed, and the obvious implication that they are a blight on the landscape and need... read more...

Finding Your

Friday, September 30, 2011 | Comments (0) | Written by Laura Z. Sowers
This has been a year of brittle drought. Typically, July brings heat-breaking, late-afternoon showers. These monsoonal rains originate in the Pacific Ocean driven by the Sun, and commence when the land is warmer than the ocean.  This year they were late. So, I was interested when the weather forecasters began talking about a hopeful trend in the dew point. I wasn't sure what that meant, so I googled it. I got way more information than I really wanted, but basically the dew point... read more...

The Thief of Summer

Thursday, August 04, 2011 | Comments (0) | Written by Laura Z. Sowers
It is already high summer. For me, this is less of an official date than a personal designation. When I was young, early summer was just a matter of climbing the rungs of June and July that peaked at my birthday. After that, it was a downward slide that landed in the mud puddle of "back to school." On the way down, I dragged my sneakered feet along the rails trying to slow the momentum. Despite my efforts, the all-too-brief, delicious days of summer were drawing to an end. Life was... read more...

My Dad Is A Giver

Thursday, June 16, 2011 | Comments (0) | Written by Jennifer Santiago
My dad loves his girls. My dad is a team player. My dad thinks we're beautiful. My dad comes from a meager upbringing and began earning his own wages by the age of ten. Contributing to the family gave him a great sense of pride. He often saved up to buy his sisters clothes and surprised them with their favorite cereal. He worked hard and developed an extraordinary work ethic. He later learned his trade as a carpenter, eventually received his license as building contractor... read more...

Consider the Lillies

Tuesday, April 12, 2011 | Comments (0) | Written by Misty Foster
Music ties heavily with my memories. When something happens and there's music, it's forever tied to that moment. Hearing the melody again (even years later) and the memory comes back instantly, like a burst of water from a broken pipe. It hits me hard especially when I don't see it coming. An autumn night in 2005 was one of those times. The women's study started after a long summer break and I was anxious for it to start. Fellowshipping with women is a different time; a different... read more...

The Unexpected Ways of God

Friday, March 04, 2011 | Comments (0) | Written by Carmen Camino
Isn't it amazing how God, through His Holy Spirit, acts, reveals His will, empowers people and discloses His personal presence in the Old and New Testament? Time and space cannot constrain Him. He is everywhere, close to everything, next to everyone. God is afar off and near at the same time, and in Him we move and live and have our being. Three years ago I was invited to teach the Bible at a women's jail in Peru. My friend Nancy asked me, "What are you planning to teach?" I said,... read more...

God's Tough Love

Monday, February 21, 2011 | Comments (0) | Written by Laura Z. Sowers
To say it had been a few rough years is an understatement. Just months after caring for my parents through their final illnesses, I became sick. Leukemia. Then, industrial strength chemo, a dreaded relapse, and the difficult choice to go to California for a "last-option" bone marrow transplant. To be honest...I didn't understand why God had allowed this sickness. I had been walking closely with Him during the years of caring for my folks and felt new strength and deeper intimacy with... read more...

Catch Your Breath! How to Find Fresh Life in 20 Minutes a Day

Wednesday, January 19, 2011 | Comments (0) | Written by Lenya Heitzig
"Let me catch my breath before you take it away again," a blogger begged the cyber-world. We live in a multi-tasking, microwaveable, life at internet-speed world. Recently, I saw a young mother frantically pushing a stroller, munching on a breakfast bar, while talking on her cell. She had crowded eating breakfast, exercising, closing a business transaction, while spending "quality time" with her toddler into a twenty-minute unit of time. More than likely she had adopted the attitude I'd picked... read more...

Discover Your Spiritual Gifts

Tuesday, January 18, 2011 | Comments (0) | Written by Lenya Heitzig
One Christmas, my Grandpa Davis didn't open his presents. The family was gathered around the Christmas tree unwrapping gifts each in their turn. Aunt Ann received an extravagant bottle of perfume from her husband. Aunt Eva presented the kids with our annual underwear. But Grandpa left his pile undisturbed. At the end of the night, they were stowed away in the hall closet. I still don't know why. Just like my grandpa, you could be one of the millions with riches stashed away. Over $60 billion in... read more...