Buzzing sounds pierced the foggy end of Amber's dream. She rubbed the crick in her neck and lifted her head. The pillow slid behind her armchair as she grabbed her cellphone from the coffee table. "Mm-hello?" She rubbed the blear from her eyes. A gravelly voice rumbled through the phone. "This…
Afternoon rays cast golden hues over the marble sill. Joyce wrung lemon-scented suds from her dishrag and gazed through the window. Tweeting mounted around their backyard’s birch. A robin swooped into the tree, nudging a scraggy-feathered youngling. The front door banged shut. Joyce turned from the window. “Alyssa?” “Hey, Mom.” She…
Bitter chills swept over Laina's skin. She tightened her scarf for the fourth time as she strolled down the deserted sidewalk. Gusts howled through the alleys and rippled across inky street puddles. She snapped her attention to scuffling behind her. Litter tumbled and skidded across the concrete. She quickened her pace…
When a sheltered lady boards a pirate ship, survival teeters on the edge of a blade. Her heart throbs with percussive gusto. Tendons thicken in her soul's core. Her spirit expands until she becomes someone she never dreamed. She finds love, masters swordsmanship, and captains a ship. Unknown lands unfold before her.…
From blaring pitches to mesmerizing jingles, ads crowd the media around us with promises of the secret to success. Cultivate your image. Worm your way into powerful company so your contacts will promote you. Develop innovative concepts. Build a tribe. Create million-dollar product launches, dynamic videos . . . Each boasts a blueprint for prosperity. Pitch men display spreadsheets of…
The measure of a thing's value differs from one person to the next. Though supply and demand set market costs, the significance of an item varies for individuals. Starving children would trade diamonds for bread. Politicians spend thousands on banquets to feed woo diamond-studded supporters. Wealth or need, desire or apathy.…
"'Now announce to the army, Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.’ So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained" (Judges 7:3). Imagine living in a nation oppressed by enemy forces. An army double the size your your population sweeps through neighborhoods, looting homes and murdering…
"Some sat in darkness, in utter darkness, prisoners suffering . . . Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness, and broke away their chains. Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing…
"Some sat in darkness, in utter darkness, prisoners suffering . . . Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness, and broke away their chains. Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing…
"Some wandered in desert wastelands, . . . hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away. Then they cried out to the Lord . . . and he delivered them . . . Let them give thanks to the Lord . . . for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with…