Desperation and Urgency “Under the Sun” by Nick Kersten, Librarian-historian   The global scene was bristling with danger as world powers waged war. America’s forces were stretched perilously thin, engaged in minor conflicts in many locations. The ideological landscape was rapidly changing as the standard ways of thinking about life, morality, and faith...

Distracted by Katrina Goodrich   So many of us are constantly bombarded with phone calls, texts, feed updates, tweets, and whatever other sorts of social media to which we subscribe. As Christians we should be even more conscious of what we say and do on and offline since it might be at the top of someone’s newsfeed the next day. While an off-hand post...

A Convulsive Explosion of Air by Leanne Lippincott-Wuerthele   A portion of Psalm 139:13-14 says, “For you [God] formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (ESV). I especially like The Living Bible paraphrase of these verses: “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body...

Fight the flu! by Barb Green, Parish Nurse Milton, Wis.   Influenza (or flu) is a contagious respiratory illness caused by viruses that infect the nose, throat and lungs. People often blame intestinal upsets on the flu, but this is a misnomer. Signs and symptoms of influenza may have some or all of these: fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose,...

The Grand Purpose of Life by James Sanderson Estill Springs, Tenn.   Have you ever seriously considered why you are here? I don’t mean why you’re sitting where you are now, but why are you here in this life? In other words, what is the reason for man’s existence on this planet? It’s so unfortunate that the vast majority of people come into this world, then...