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If you had a few close friends who visited you on a regular basis, bearing precious gifts, wouldn’t you consider yourself blessed? That’s how I feel about the Christian Science periodicals— The Christian Science Journal , Christian Science Sentinel, Christian Science Quarterly  Bible Lessons, and The Christian Science Monitor . I eagerly look forward to their arrival because they bring messages of comfort, guidance, and healing.

I want to share some wonderful fruitage that flowed from Andrea McCormick’s article, “Nothing Could Keep Us from Our Association,” in the July 2011 issue of the Journal . My husband and I were starting a journey to the United Kingdom.

Church Periodicals. It shall be the privilege and duty of every member, who can afford it, to subscribe for the periodicals which are the organs of this Church; and it shall be the duty of the Directors to see that these periodicals are ably edited and kept abreast of the times.

As a youth-focused lecturer, I work on making my talks more of a conversation with audience participation. Early this spring I was giving a talk to a Christian Science organization at a college campus on the East Coast, and the natural interaction that flowed from that hour was really special.

As I’ve been studying Jesus’ works in the Gospels, I’ve been discovering new, deeper applications to daily living. I love the story of the feeding of the five thousand (see Matthew 14:15–21 and Mark 6:34–44 ), and have read it many times, as you probably have, too.

It was early December. With about 80 Christmas wreaths and 30 plus table arrangements to decorate within the next week, time pressures weighed heavily on me as I hurried off to pick up floral supplies.

Each year as the holidays approach I think about the season as one symbolizing hope and peace, and I prayerfully listen for a deeper sense of the meaning of Christmas. Recently, as I pondered the Christmas story in the Bible (see Matthew 1 and 2 , and Luke 1 and 2 ), I was particularly struck by Mary, the young Hebrew virgin, and by the depth of humility and obedience in her receptive prayer.

A recent film,  Contagion , directed by Steven Soderbergh, explores the spread of a lethal virus that becomes a worldwide pandemic, killing thousands of people as it gains momentum—and defeating the best efforts of disease control experts to identify it. According to the reviews, the story is alarmingly believable, dwelling on the science involved in combating such a virus.

By the time we reach our 40’s , we’ve often come to terms with life—settled in our ways and not expecting big changes. I certainly never expected the answer to the riddle of the universe to appear at that time of my life and transform my entire existence.

I have always loved studying different languages and cultures. So, when I was given the chance to learn Spanish and Indonesian during my last two years of high school, I eagerly signed up.