15 weeks, 15 letters, 15 minutes. To start the new year, 2015. It’s never too late to join us. Learn about the challenge here. Someone who helped you find God This could be anyone from a nationally-renowned pastor or Bible scholar to a grandmother who taught you to pray. It could be a friend whose...

I had another one of those brief, flitting moments again… the thought, “I ought to call Mom” sparking in the synapses of my brain. And then, the heavy thunk of disappointment. Because I can’t. However quick that response comes, it’s never fast enough to keep me from thinking about her in the first place. Because...

15 weeks, 15 letters, 15 minutes. To start the new year, 2015. It’s never too late to join us. Learn about the challenge here. Someone under the age of 18 When we think about people who have influenced us, we often look to our past. But young people can have an impact, too—because of their hard...

15 weeks, 15 letters, 15 minutes. To start the new year, 2015. It’s never too late to join us. Learn about the challenge here. Someone who loved someone you loved When my mom died, I wasn’t the only one who felt a loss. She had coworkers, a priest, friends, and kids who came into her clinic...

15 weeks, 15 letters, 15 minutes. To start the new year, 2015. It’s never too late to join us. Learn about the challenge here. Someone who taught you to be curious A teacher, pastor, aunt or uncle, an author, a coach. This can be anyone who encouraged you to ask questions and explore. Who showed you how to learn,...

When my friend Sherry was in the hospital, broken, nonresponsive, the doctor’s words didn’t contain much hope. She’d stopped breathing. There was certain to be brain damage. The list of concerns went on and on. We didn’t know whether to pray for healing—and the long road it might be, with the potential for more pain—or for...

15 weeks, 15 letters, 15 minutes. To start the new year, 2015. It’s never too late to join us. Learn about the challenge here. Several years ago, the first time I attended the Midwest Writers Workshop, I met this woman from Michigan. Irene invited me to lunch with some people from her writers group. The...

Sweet Lord, as my friend Sherry lies in the ICU, with tubes and monitors and so many things that are unknown, I lean towards You. Towards what is known. I turn towards life. Towards the One who grants life and who isn’t fazed by its earthly limits. The One who sees past our finite measure...

15 weeks, 15 letters, 15 minutes. To start the new year, 2015. It’s never too late to join us. Learn about the challenge here. WEEK 2 CHALLENGE: A PERSON YOU’VE LAUGHED WITH Your best friend. Your spouse or life partner. A co-worker, a roommate from college. Your child. Anyone you think of when you think...

When you walk through a gallery or museum and examine the paintings on the walls, you’ll see a huge variety of brush strokes. Some are bold and thick and viscous, shiny streaks of color smeared onto the canvas. Some strokes are soft, virtually indistinguishable, carefully blended to leave no trace of the brush that made...