And in the morning, a great while before day, he rose and went out to a lonely place, and there he prayed. (Mark 1:35) More »

In the course of the next five years, many of us will experience the loss of a loved one. Maybe our parents are getting up in years. We may lose our husband or wife. Perhaps a close friend will become seriously ill. More »

Those who receive Communion lose themselves in God like a drop of water in the ocean: It’s impossible to separate them anymore. . . . In these vast depths of love, there’s enough to lose yourself for eternity.—St. John Vianney More »

I typically conclude my daily morning prayer with intercessions. I take about ten minutes to pray for family, friends, the sick, people who have asked me for prayer, and people that the Holy Spirit has brought to my attention. I entrust each person to the care of the Lord, who knows better than I do what each one needs most. I regard this intercessory prayer as part of my commitment as a follower of Christ. I see it as way of drawing others close to the Lord, which is my responsibility as his disciple. More »

At the age of five, my grandnephew Charlie was already a seasoned cowboy. But even seasoned cowboys can sometimes get thrown from a horse, especially if the rider is caught off balance when the horse “spooks”—cowboy language for a sudden rearing or sideward lunge when something scares the horse. More »

Free, educated, and beautiful, Henriette Delille enjoyed the highest status possible for a black woman in a slave state before the Civil War. Yet, out of love for God, Henriette chose to exchange a life of relative ease and wealth for one of poverty and struggle. More »

Have you ever noticed the vast difference that can exist between understanding something intellectually and experiencing it personally? Before his death, Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit, but his disciples had little understanding of what he meant until the Spirit fell on them in power on Pentecost. More »

Every year when our children were growing up, I used to feel ambushed by summer. As school came to an end and our regular schedule disappeared, it was a struggle to change gears and begin dealing with that familiar question: “I’m bored, Mom, what can I do?” More »