By Debra Torres
A herd of sheep gently grazed on the side of the road as my friend Gustavo’s cycling group rolled to a stop.

Touring Italy, they had just completed a long, mountainous climb and now, after a small descent, they were arriving at the famous breathtaking display of wildflowers the Italians call Fioritura.


It was just a small break for the touring group of experienced cyclists so they 


could take in the vibrant beauty of the region. 

But for Gustavo, it will be one that he will remember all his life.

Gustavo had carefully chosen this cycling tour of Italy for its challenging heights and distance. It was just the thing he wanted to accomplish before hitting the age of 45.

It was the Giro D’ Italia – a 750-mile bike tour in just 15 days where cyclists visited seven regions of Italy and climbed a total of 51,000 feet vertically. 

Gustavo’s lifelong desire to be a professional cyclist had been squelched long ago by an illness. And to him, this trip was a second chance. An opportunity to accomplish a challenging tour among talented athletes that would push him to the limit. 

It was time to rediscover himself. But surprisingly enough, it was a little lamb that taught Gustavo his biggest life lesson on the trip.

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By Debra Torres
Claudia said she didn’t take Joyce’s stuffed animal. 

It wasn’t hers, so what would she have to do with it? 

Again and again she denied that she took it, but when we challenged her to open her square, metal lunchbox, 



I’m sure we probably gasped at what was inside.

Joyce’s toy.

It was 1973 and I was in second grade. And even though I was only 7, I can still see the tormented look on Claudia’s face when her peers caught her in the act.

A lying tongue cuts both ways.

In my devotions this morning, I read that we are responsible to teach our children about lying and why it is wrong. And it also said that we should use God’s Word to do it.

This challenged me to do a little digging, because you know what? As parents and grandparents, I think we often do a disservice to the young ones who are watching us. Can you guess what it is?

We Lie.

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The little Indigo Bunting looked half dead as it lay on the flagstones in front of our house.

This wasn’t the first time a bird had hit one of our windows and, knowing the drill, my daughters and I rushed to the rescue. 

With three barn cats claiming our property as their hunting grounds, we knew that the little stunned bird didn’t stand a chance if spotted.

I found our old birdcage and with the help of my girls, we laid “Chester” on top of some newspapers inside.

Usually a stunned bird will take a few minutes to recover, and I could tell that Chester was about ready to be released when I heard a series of chirps coming from the cage and he began to flutter around.

I was just about to bring the cage outside when Chester did a surprising thing. 

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By Debra Torres
I woke up at 5a.m. that morning and started thinking of all things I had on my plate that day.

Why not get up now? I thought, and my mind raced to cover all the things I could accomplish with the extra hours. I had gone to bed at midnight the night before, but so what if I was running on adrenaline 

– it would be a productive day regardless of how little sleep I got, right?

It was long past lunch on another busy day -- and I was still working. My body was screaming for food –oh, I heard it loud and clear. But if I could just get one more thing done, it would set me that much ahead. Trying to ignore my stomach and wade through the increasing fuzziness in my brain, I lumbered on – sure I was making the right choice by pushing myself.

I thought I had it rough until I ...

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The woman liked church. There was something special about being within the four walls of its fellowship. 

At church, there were friendly people who accepted her for who she was, there were plenty of social opportunities, and there was that general feeling that came when you fulfilled your duty.

She was going to church after all.

            
But there was one thing that the woman really didn’t get. And that was a growing intimacy with Jesus. 

Heck, she wasn’t so sure about him at all. Church was enough wasn’t it? 


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