Articles

HAVE YOU EVER NEEDED help restoring order in the face of chaos, ever felt overwhelmed by demands beyond your capacity to cope, or ever craved for "Peace, peace, when there is no peace?" ( Jer. 8:11 ).

LET'S TAKE A WALK TOGETHER . It's early in the morning, and we're heading down a gravel beach on the shore of a great inland lake.

—Phillips Brooks Christian Science Hymnal, No. 222 IMAGINE CELEBRATING A BIRTHDAY with two billion people.

TAKING A LATE-AUTUMN BREAK near the seaside town of Sidmouth in Devon on the beautiful South Coast of England, I revelled in my peaceful surroundings and the solitude. Most of the homes in the caravan park [mobile home park] where I stayed were unoccupied at that time of year, and very few people were around.

DURING MY FINAL YEAR AT UNIVERSITY, a brief discussion with my academic tutor made a deep impression on me. And what a blessing this was! I had presented an essay that was very minimal and lacking in inspiration, and my tutor, a gentle but discerning man, quietly spoke a few words, indicating that work of this calibre would not get me through my final examinations.

Christmas is a season of gift giving. The gift that started it all, though, is not restricted to a single day or month of the year.

1. Barry Huff is a PhD candidate in Biblical studies at Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, Virginia.

AT A CROSSROADS FOR SOME TIME, not able to see what would come next, I found myself tempted by impatience. Many former activities had come to a close, and new opportunities seemed too distant, too indistinct.

O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. —Psalms 106:1 Sarah Andrews In May I graduated from college, so this past year I've really been grateful for a clear sense of divine direction.

MY SENIOR YEAR AT PREP SCHOOL began with a rough start. I was immediately thrown into an almost absurd amount of work.