How far are you willing to go to pursue your goals? Goals are good, especially when we’re called to pursue things. For example, I know that I was called to publishing and writing. Others may know they were called to the mission field, to teaching, to firefighting, to music or art. Goals help us pursue…
At Christmas, I’m always drawn to the story of Mary. Imagine being fourteen or fifteen, the age most historians think Mary was, betrothed to a man arranged by your parents, and suddenly an angelic being appears in front of you. Said angel tells you are going to be a mother! What would you do? I’d…
It can be incredibly easy for us as humans to think we know exactly what God’s plans are for our lives. But what do we do when the plans we were so sure were God’s don’t come to fruition? I recently contributed a story to the Christmas anthology, A Star Will Rise. The theme of…
Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse and finally stopped breathing. She said to Elijah, “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?” ~ 1 Kings 17:17-19 (NIV) After…
Fear of the unknown surrounds the young; strange shapes in the darkness, creepy sounds in the night, slithering creatures under the bed or in the closet. They all work together to make little hands clench the sheets and yank them over their heads until the dawn of the next day. The worries of the world—political…
I will never forget this hiking experience in one of Florida’s scrub forests. We came upon a family of scrub jays. I had heard that, unlike most birds, they have very little fear of humans. That proved to be an understatement. Although we were out in the wild, they landed on our heads, hands, and…
When Henri Nouwen’s life was interrupted by the death of a loved one, confronted by poverty, his quiet monastic life by busyness, and his emotional safety by the collapse of a deep friendship, Nouwen, a Roman Catholic priest and spiritual writer asks in Beyond the Mirror, “Where is God? And Who is God for me?”…
[Hope Bolinger] Burning Bright without Burning Out
Burnout. There’s not an author you’ll meet in the industry who hasn’t encountered it.