Articles

Many years ago I was host to a devout Muslim woman who had come to England from Algeria to improve her English while she was taking a course at a local college. We talked a lot, particularly about our religions.

I'd always wanted to be an ambassador or a diplomat, perhaps working at the United Nations or an embassy, so that I could contribute to making the world a better place. But because of other careers I had pursued, I finally realized one day that this just wasn't going to happen.

For me , prayer is seldom a matter of bowing my head in a quiet place (though that's nice when it happens). I don't believe there is a "right" way or place for prayer; God is bigger than any one denomination.

The Annual International Festival at Stanford University was just days away, and a friend of mine asked me and some other friends if we'd like to spend Saturday welcoming the international students and giving out free copies of the international newspaper, The Christian Science Monitor . That could be just the thing to help these students connect with news of their homeland, she said, and the cost in terms of time and money was minimal.

My husband Jamie and I were in the cereal aisle of the supermarket. A few feet away there was a coupon dispenser with a little flashing red light.

As a professional soldier, I find that these are challenging times. International terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, allusions to clashes of religion, culture, and civilizations color conflicts in the Middle East and Central Asia.

When I was in junior high school my dad bought an old farmhouse in Vermont. It had been deserted for a couple of years, and the house had no electricity or running water—though there was a nearby spring.

My commute to work includes a subway ride from lower Manhattan to Grand Central Station. Lately, instead of reading, I've been praying.

When Margaret Watson's first husband passed away several years ago, she was disconsolate. "I was feeling very sorry for myself," Margaret related matter-of-factly.

I grew up in a Christian Science household, but in my early twenties I distanced myself from the religion. I thought it was just naivete to rely on the beautiful and good.