As a child brought up in a military family, I usually lived thousands of miles away from “home,” which was my grandfather’s dairy farm in rural Minnesota. One of my most...

When the hurricane slammed into our coastal town, our family was prepared. We had stockpiled water, food, flashlights, and batteries. Our children gathered in a large downstairs closet with their blankets...

I find Elijah to be one of the most interesting figures in the Bible. He suffered loneliness, persecution, humiliation, and hunger in grim desert places. But God never abandoned him. God...

Even though Dad had retired, he still received frequent invitations from local churches to preach on Sundays. But when he was 89 years old, he told me that he would be...

As my grandchildren grow up, I see less and less of them. They are busy with school, friends, work, and social obligations. Several weeks ago, we visited our daughter on a...

Have you ever disliked someone so much that you delighted in their troubles? I have. I am ashamed to admit that my “enemy” and I are both missionaries. She runs a...

In August of 1999, while working at my job as a kindergarten teacher, I received a life-changing phone call. The doctor’s receptionist said, “Jan, the doctor needs to talk with you...

Today’s scripture came to me at a time when I felt hopeless. I was very poor, my son had committed suicide, and less than a year later my grandson died of...

I have often thought about what excitement and adventure international missionaries must experience as they follow the instructions given by Jesus in the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19-20 and Mark 16:15). Despite...

On May 1, 2018, the meditation in The Upper Room was about a young boy who sat on the stairs putting pebbles in his mouth. His mother took the rocks out,...