By Debra Torres
I’ve just finished reading the Book of Ecclesiastes, and I have to admit that at first I was glad to be done with it. 

King Solomon, despite all his splendor, must have been going through a pretty rough time when he wrote that book. 

Or, maybe his God-given gift of wisdom caused him to see things a little more deeply than I would. Either way, the book comes across as downright depressing.

In Ecclesiastics, Solomon highlights the monotony of life and a futile theme echoes throughout that all is relatively “meaningless.”

I understand Solomon’s complaints, I really do. Sometimes ...

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Who is God? The creator of the universe has more for you than a meaningless existence. Following Jesus gives your life the meaning you seek. Ask God to help you keep your focus on him and there you'll discover your purpose.

By Debra Torres
When I was younger, God was a bit standoffish to me. And even though I held him in awe, respected his holiness and tried like crazy to wrap my head around his Word, I just couldn’t seem to get any closer.

God just wasn’t relatable to me.

 Oh, I believed he was there, but only somewhere in the distance, unmoving and staring – kind of like the statues in my church.


At least that’s how I thought about him anyway. And if that’s what I thought about God, then that was pretty much the truth, right?

I watched Priscilla from my seat across from her in the classroom and decided that she was cold and distant. She was in a few of my classes back then, and I sure we could never be friends. One day, she asked me for a ride home from class and even invited me in for a bite to eat. But I kindly refused.

I wasn’t her friend after all. ...

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Who is God? It’s amazing how we let our thoughts and perceptions of God shape our understanding of Him. I guess it’s human nature and maybe some kind of “control freak” thing we do having to have him all figured out. What do you think about God?
 

It may be just a tad early for some plants, but I am desperate to start my seeds indoors. 

This winter’s been the longest yet it seems, and at the end of March, I still could only count the signs of spring on one hand.

I’ve poured through my seed catalogs, looked through last year’s remaining supply, and even brought my five-foot seed growing stand out of the barn and on into our sun room.

I am ready.


Starting seeds indoors is a bit of therapy for me, I think. Not only does it give me the opportunity to pick new and unique plant varieties, it lets me get my hands dirty again.

And best of all, I get to see things grow.

There’s always a sense of excitement when I see ...

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Who is God? Just like any good parent, your heavenly Father desires to see you grow in your faith. You may start out "drinking milk," but the goal is to eat "solid food" in your Christian walk. How's it growing? 

By Debra Torres
The stack of magazines caught my eye at our local secondhand shop. They were old copies of “Taste of Home” that someone had collected over the years and finally discarded. 

I had never heard of the magazine before, but its “home cooking style” looked right up my alley. I had been on a recipe kick at that time, satisfying my usual urge for new ideas in the kitchen with books upon books from our local library.

So happily I paid my few dollars and took the stack home with me.

Over the next few months, I poured through the old copies, finding many recipes that suited our family of seven well. And whenever I found a winner, I would proudly use a little jingle to tell my family that I got the recipe from “Taste of Home.”

When I started to get close to the bottom of my pile, however, I began to wonder if the magazine still was still in print. And after a search on the Internet, was glad to ...

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Who is God? God loves us so much that he gives us all of the ingredients we need for a good life. Want the recipe? Follow these four-steps for attaining life and health here on earth.