By Debra Torres
I was sure that the man on the other side of the counter was dead wrong. 

And we had it out back and forth until I left in a huff.

How could he be so mistaken, I didn’t know. I had my facts straight, I could tell you that much. 

And if you were there with me, I probably would have ­­– over and over again. 

It wasn’t until later that night as I was going through the scene for the hundredth time in my head that the Holy Spirit brought to my mind one fact that I had forgotten about completely.

And a sudden realization hit me like a ton of bricks.

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Who is God? God tells us in the Book of Proverbs that wisdom and understanding are crucial elements to a blessed and healthy life. Who wouldn't want that? Let's ask God for them daily!

By Debra Torres
My daughter came home from church a few weeks back with a puzzle she had colored and cut out. Presenting me with a baggie filled with the little pieces, she asked for help.

As she and I put the puzzle together, I realized that the pieces were made up of sections of the Lord’s Prayer. 

“Hallowed be they name,” was colored in red. “Give us this day our daily bread,” was blue. And, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” was green. 

As we worked on the puzzle, a pang shot through me as I realized that I had never taught the prayer to her.

Growing up, my mother raised my brother and me in the Catholic Church. As I made my way through my first Communion, religious education classes and my Confirmation, the “Our Father” or the “Lord’s Prayer” was ingrained in my memory.

 I remember my mother sitting at my bed praying through the rosary with me. My rosary had two different sizes of pale pink beads and touching each small one, we would recite the “Hail Mary” prayer. After the tenth bead was a large one, and it was time for the “Our Father.”

After becoming an evangelical Christian in my teens ...

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Who is God? God gave us so many insights on life and Christian living when he gave us the Lord's Prayer. "Teach us to pray," the disciples asked. Jesus did that and much more.

Books have taken me on wild adventures in my life. 

Because of them, I’ve had the unique opportunity to travel from the Shire to Mount Doom with two homesick hobbits.

 I’ve explored the open prairie with a little girl named Laura and her brindle bulldog Jack.

 And I’ve even fished with the old man and the sea.

For as a long as I can remember, I’ve loved reading. And I can still feel the rush of excitement that would course through me when I entered a library ready for a new find. 

Books have given me the chance to step into someone else’s world. They’ve taken me back in time, forward in time, and landed me in present-day situations that were far different than my own.

I’m grateful for the opportunity and ability to read, and I’d hate to think ...

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Who is God? God has written a love letter to you. If you want to grow in Him, you need to read it, study it and apply it to your life.

By Debra Torres
The snow was crisp beneath my boots, and the squeaky sound that came from each footstep told me that it was cold. 

Really cold.

I didn’t need the snow to tell me it was cold, though. My body was way ahead of it. 

That week, my fingers froze in my mittens, my feet felt the chill right through my boots and even my woolen hat was no match for the bite of the wind.

Brrr…

Sometimes, when the weather gets me down in Western Pa., I begin to think about Virginia Beach and the many years I spent living there. I had enjoyed the South with its two-month winters, its daffodils in February and its endless blue skies.

When God moved our family North over ten years ago, however, I was ready for an adventure. But I didn’t think ...

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Who is God? God knows exactly what we need, and we have to learn to be content with what He gives us. When we can do that – we can have peace.