The following is a sample from one of the chapters in The Promise and the Light by Katy Morgan. Written as a series of vivid and dramatic first-person accounts, the book tells the stories of Mary, Joseph and Zechariah as they experience the events of the first Christmas... continue reading
Most of us are a mixture of emotions and experiences. The good, the bad, and the ugly wash over us regularly. The key issue is what we do with these feelings and experiences. How does being a believer shape the way in which we view our world, especially when we’re faced with worries and grief?... continue reading
“I told all my friends that Santa isn’t real, but Jesus is!”
When my five-year-old came home with this news, her teacher had already told me (with concern) that she’d been directing other kids to act out the Christmas story. “You’re Mary. You’re Joseph. You’re the angel.” I was torn between admiring her gumption and dreading awkward conversations with other parents!... continue reading
“I told all my friends that Santa isn’t real, but Jesus is!”
When my five-year-old came home with this news, her teacher had already told me (with concern) that she’d been directing other kids to act out the Christmas story. “You’re Mary. You’re Joseph. You’re the angel.” I was torn between admiring her gumption and dreading awkward conversations with other parents!... continue reading
Women are mentioned only occasionally in biblical genealogies (as in 1 Chronicles 1:32, 50). Usually these family trees take the form “X [the father] begat Y [the son]” and make no mention of the mother. What sticks out in Matthew’s account of Jesus’ genealogy is that it mentions five women altogether. There must be a reason for this. And why only these women? After all, every man listed had a mother.... continue reading
They say time is relative, and it can certainly seem that way as Christmas approaches. To a busy parent—with presents to wrap, cards to send, meals to prepare, and spare batteries to remember to buy—time seems to fly. There is not enough of it—and there is simply too much to do.... continue reading
I was 18 when I realized my backbone was no longer made for bending. Prior to that, fear had won for so many years. Now I finally pried off the muzzle from over my mouth and confronted my father’s scarceness during one of our sporadic phone calls.... continue reading
It’s the intertwining of the two forces of mind and imagination that, I believe, made C.S. Lewis such a powerful evangelist, not only for me but for countless others. An expert on medieval literature may not seem like the kind of person God would use for widespread evangelistic fruit. But Lewis saw himself as a “translator—one turning Christian doctrine ... into language that unscholarly people would attend to and could understand.”... continue reading
Betty was only seven years old when pilot Charles Lindbergh became the first man to fly solo across the Atlantic. This sparked an interest in aeroplanes in Betty, which became a real passion when her big brother, Joe, started to take flying lessons. Joe would tell Betty everything he’d learned, and Betty would listen, wishing that one day she too could fly.... continue reading
Gladys Aylward was the daughter of Rosina and Thomas Aylward. They lived in north London, where they led a simple but happy life. While Gladys was attending church in her twenties, she felt called to serve God in China. Determined to follow her dream, Gladys enrolled at missionary school. Sadly, she didn’t pass her theology exam and was told that she couldn’t go to China after all.... continue reading
