As kids projects go, the one my daughter brought home the other day takes the cake.  

After having five kids, you can probably imagine that I’ve seen my share of what Styrofoam cups, Popsicle sticks and pipe cleaners have to offer in children’s crafting.

But this project was different. It was an Easter garden complete with clay saucer base, pebbles and a healthy mound of peat. 

And because of my interest in gardening, you can imagine that my ears perked up when I found out that seeds were involved.

As I gave the garden a closer look, a tiny clay pot tomb caught my eye. It lay on its side and its open end poked out from the mound of dirt. Three twig crosses on the hill above it were a somber reminder.  

It was a heart-stopping diorama and I had a hard time taking my eyes off it.

Grass seed sprinkled on top of the dirt blew away with the wind as we took the project inside. But enough remained for us to soak it with a good spray of water twice a day.

Anxiously, we watched and waited for my daughter’s garden to sprout. But each day that we searched the dirt for even a tiny showing of green, we were left disappointed.

Yesterday, when I voiced my doubts ...

Click here to read more 

The man opened our church service with a quick prayer followed by a touching testimony. 

Baring his heart, he shared how, when he was a young boy, his family moved from England to the city of Philadelphia.

He had it rough fitting in at his school, he said, where he was the white kid with the funny accent. 

But even though things were tough there, an abusive father who had a taste for alcohol made him even more afraid to go home.  

Unfortunately as the man grew, he followed in his father’s footsteps to the bars and nurtured a hardened heart. ...


Want to know how to grow in God? Find out more about Him in this Christian devotional.

“Here kitty, kitty, kitty,” I called out into the woods after counting only two of our three barn cats at the food bowl. 

“Time to eat!”

Where was she? I had noticed that our fluffy cat, “Miracle” hadn’t been eating well in the past few weeks and now this? 

Not showing up for a meal could mean anything really for a cat, but I was a little worried all the same.

Looking out to our barn, I could just make out the shape of a little fluffy head peering out the door.

Aha! there she was! But, why wasn’t she coming to eat?

I got my answer soon enough when I saw her ...

Click here to read more 

Photo courtesy of Naomi Lasdon

It was 11th grade chemistry class and Mr. Reber was in his glory. He loved trying to relate atoms, elements and the periodic table to a bunch of teens who longed to be anywhere else but in his classroom.

I remember one of his lectures going something like this:

 
“Now memorizing the names of the elements is very important,” he was saying. “The names identify them, they tell us what they are.”

“It’s sort of like hearing your own name spoken,” Mr. Reber said, getting that wistful look in his eye. “You hear it, and you pay attention. And there is nothing like it because it’s who you are. Take my name for example, ‘Melvin.’ Hear that? It sounds sweet to my ears: Mel-vin.” ...

Click here for more

The doting grandmother handed the boy a sweet and watched him toddle off.

“It’s candy,” she told him, “you can eat it.”

Doubtful, the boy clutched the brightly colored piece in his hand, not daring to bring it to his mouth.

The grandmother looked up at the boy’s father and smiled. “He doesn’t know what it is,” she said.

His dad took the candy, gently took a small bite and handed it back to the boy.

Gladly, the boy took his own bite then and after that toddled off downing one after the other.

I was at a sporting event watching this scene and after it I began to mull over what a great analogy it was for our Christian walk.

So many times we shy away from things that seem different or strange, don’t we? But when someone we know and love “takes the first bite,” we’re more apt to give it a try.

Click here to read more