A special celebration of cancer remission. by Lydia E. Harris Lord, you’ve been our refuge from generation to generation (Psalm 90:1, ISV). Thirty relatives crowded into my niece’s home for our family prayer time. The adults sat in the living room, and the children perched on the stairway nearby. Every few months for many years, […]

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Born the ninth child in our family, I was named Lydia. My five older sisters wanted to name me Esther, so I became Lydia Esther. Both of these courageous, God-fearing Bible women became role models for me. When my parents told their friends I was named after the biblical Lydia, a seller of purple by […]

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I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever; with my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations (Psalm 89:1). Years before my birth, God began weaving the fabric of my life with vibrant threads of prayer. Without those threads, I would never have been born. In 1929, Nicolai Siemens, the […]

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Start by holding up both hands. The right hand represents God, and the left hand represents people. Repeat the words in bold aloud as you do the motions. “God loves.” (Both hands are clasped together.) “We sinned.” (Left hand moves to the left.) “Jesus died.” (Right hand moves to the right. Now both hands are […]

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A light blue Volkswagen Beetle backed into the empty space next to my car in the medical parking lot. A middle-aged man got out of it. “That’s a nice car,” I said. He smiled. “It’s a 2014.” We compared notes on VW’s we had owned, and then our conversation turned to family. “I have ten […]

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My to-do list was too long: trips to the post office and grocery store, housecleaning, and birthday party prep. Could I complete everything before guests arrived at noon to celebrate our granddaughter’s first birthday? I rushed to the post office, only to discover it wasn’t open yet. Determined to finish all my tasks, I skipped […]

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“Is there someone who can wrap these flowers?” I asked the store clerk as I paid for my bouquet of bright pink carnations nestled in baby’s breath. “I’ll call someone to floral,” he said. As I waited, I lifted the flowers to my nose and smelled their spicy-sweet fragrance. Soon a young man, who told […]

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A popular song of my day claimed that Catalina was the island of romance. I laughed at that silly notion. I was going there to learn more about the Bible and witnessing, not for romance. But God had a surprise for me. Near the end of the summer month of Christian training, our college group […]

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