Last week, we began reflecting upon a holiday carol's legend. While the intrigue rumored to influence The Twelve Days of Christmas has been debunked by scholars, we can still benefit from meditating upon the lyrics. Reflecting upon the subject of each stanza as a faith symbol offers us an opportunity to…
Kyria shredded the propaganda, hurling sweat-drenched fodder at a barrel of flaming tongues. For Momma. Grandpa. Everyone. Scrap phantoms billowed in a taunting dance. She kicked the rusty dragon, splaying its fiery guts across the refugee camp. Cool hands seized her trembling arms. Her ruddy fists dropped. Tears blurred her view…
"The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing" (Zephaniah 3:17, ESV). Sirens. Ad jingles. Loud cell phone talkers in the store. Noise surrounds us…
"The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing" (Zephaniah 3:17, ESV). Sirens. Ad jingles. Loud cell phone talkers in the store. Noise surrounds us…
Silas twisted on the uneven stone floor and squinted through the cell's dank shadows.The rough hewn stocks chafed at his swollen ankles. Pain raked across the raw flesh of his back as his shoulders rolled into a sticky puddle--his blood mingled with Paul's, no doubt. Sour and metallic odors weighted the air between their bodies. With trembling…
I opened the door to greet the brilliant morning. Fair weather clouds glistened in the sunlight. Sparrows twittered overhead. An unfamiliar odor tainted the spring breeze. As I ventured onto the porch, my sandal crunched on the welcome mat. I gasped and retracted my foot from the wingtip of a dead…