When Peace Eludes You

By Gina Stinson

Do you know someone who has been through a devastating circumstance and yet, through it all, they have had a peaceful countenance? I’ve heard it said that the depth of your true relationship with Christ is revealed by how you handle things when they fall apart. I’ve known some real peace-filled people who have managed to rest in the arms of Jesus during life-altering challenges…and then I’ve known people like me.
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Colorful Characters

By Cynthia Ruchti

Consider any troupe of sit-com characters. What makes the blend work? Their differences linked by a common bond.

For example: the quirky young people with vastly different internal conflicts, all struggling to become full-fledged adults in the big city environment.

The unique family dynamics that often erupt in a firestorm that keeps us laughing because, though exaggerated, the mother-in-law seems like our own…the brother’s phobias sound familiar…the grandpa’s caustic comments show up at our own Thanksgiving dinners.

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God on the Spot – Part 2:The Plan

By Dianne E. Butts   

A long-married husband sits at the bedside of his beloved wife. He loves her more now than when he married her. Yet illness is eating her body. He prays God will heal her, but she dies anyway.

Parents hear the doorbell in the middle of the night. They peer out the window and see two police officers standing on the front porch. Fear grips their hearts. They open the door and hear, “Ma’am. Sir. We’re sorry to inform you there’s been an accident. Your son…”

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A Birthday Prayer—On Facing Old Age

By Julie Morris

Dear Lord,

Let this day be the positive beginning of the final chapter of my life—an open door to the oft-dreaded, much-feared thing called old age. Let me not only be a positive example to others of growing old gracefully, but a delight to you, as I grow older with joy…. relying on your grace…. seeking your face.

As I think about aging in light of “The Serenity Prayer,” which has made such an impact on my life, these words pour from my spirit: Help me to let go of things that don’t matter in the long run, focus on things that do, and rejoice in your ever-present wisdom that shows me which is which.

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Changing the Enemy

This past Christmas’s theme of peace on earth was a bit interrupted by the extremist Muslim dude trying to blow up a plane. What is often overlooked in such conflict is the need for changing minds. One news item that didn’t get nearly enough press was what happened in Libya. Officials of the Libyan government, which once sponsored terrorism, met with imprisoned Al Qaeda affiliates and learned to understand them. Then they convinced the terrorists that blowing up innocent people was not nice and that this activity should stop. The terrorists eventually denounced violence, were released, and are now propagating across the Arab world a concerted message of peace and reconciliation.

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