Am I Good Enough?

Barbara worked as hard and smart as she knew how, but she couldn’t even guess when she could finish her project, which explained why she had come in early and worked late for the last three months. Then came the day when she had to give a progress report. The boss wasn’t smiling. “If you […]

Winning against the Odds

At church on Sunday, Charles read Psalm 37:4 on the screen and heard the preacher say, “God will give you the desires of your heart.” He loved the preacher’s message, but was it true? Of course. It was in the Bible. It had to be true, right? Charles had his doubts. If God was watching […]

Unreasonable Forgiveness

One day, Peter asked Jesus how far he should go in applying the principle of forgiveness (Matthew 18:21–35). Once? Of course. Peter had heard that lesson enough times to know. But what if the offense continued? Should he forgive a second or third time? From his point of view, more than three would be absurd, […]

Death Valley

It was still dark when I went to work on icy roads, slick as greased glass, which proved my inability to distinguish between bravery and stupidity. When I approached the dip in the road, I stepped on the gas, praying that I could make it up the hill on the other side. At the top, […]