March 12, 2007
By Cylinda Nickel
 

Okay, so it is a snow day and I thought--what would Betty Crocker do on a snow day? Make chocolate chip cookies, of course.

Well I ain’t no Betty Crocker. This can be proven when I tell you what took place this past fall at my mother’s house. My mother was making homemade cookies. My seven year old said, “What are you doing Nana?” She said, “Making cookies. Seanna then questioned, “Where is the tube?” I, at that point, was praying for my personal rapture after going to the “I am an unfit mother” section of my brain.

February 19, 2007

By Jessica Simpson

 

It irks me when people imply that someone is “too old” for youth ministry, or that you can somehow outgrow it, or that being a youth leader/pastor is a stepping stone to some “higher” calling—like being assistant pastor or pastor.  When people display this mentality, it says: 1) they think young people aren’t worth a lifetime investment; 2) people can’t minister to young people if they’re “old” or have children. 

 

 

 

The Debate Continues: Apostolic Wife Swap

February 5, 2007
By Chantell Smith 

 

“The cloak that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee, and the books, but especially the parchments” (II Timothy 4:13).

 

January 29, 2007
By Kent d Curry

 

Traveling Mercies by Anne Lamott
A recovering alcoholic/drug addict, Lamott had a genuine experience with God that she still lives. That her church is unconventional, her politics distinctly liberal, and her neuroses sometimes hair-raising allows these fascinating, witty essays to deeply exhale the grace of God and deflate a sacred cow or two.

By Kent d Curry
January 22, 2007

 

Numerous hopefuls from Minneapolis were featured on American Idol’s premiere Tuesday night. It was the predictable mix of deluded aspirants, mean judges, and ecstatic winners.

January 1, 2007
By Kris Newman

They are all my favorites, but here are a few…

 

1. Eve’s Daughters by Lynne Austin--A story about several generations of women and the complicity of life.      

 

By Alison Andrews

December 18, 2006

 

A man was once asked which book he would choose to take with him to a desert island. Without hesitation he replied, “A manual of practical shipbuilding.” Well, yeah, that’s a good answer. However, with my lack of manual dexterity, I fear that choice would still be useless.

By the Staff & Readers of ninetyandnine.com

December 18, 2006

 
 
Worst Memory--Baltic States Division
My “Worst Memory of 2006” has to have happened on May 10. One day after my birthday, I slipped and fell down a ramp near a street in Riga, Latvia. I lay flat on my back on the sidewalk, dazed from the impact, while strangers babbled around me in Russian and Latvian. A lovely man tried to pick me up by my armpits, but that was so not happening as my ankle was severely broken. Thankfully, my husband appeared just in time to save me from my humiliating scene.

Best Memory—Perfect Medicine Division

Upon review, my “Best Memory of 2006” is a montage of pictures in my head of the many, many times my kids and I have been rendered helpless with laughter at something my husband has said. We have faced many unique challenges this year and Bob has a way of saying the perfect thing to diffuse the moment. Laughter truly is good medicine.

By Odigene Joseph Jr.

 

December 18, 2006

 

 

 

Step one. I struggle now as the weight of my hardship presses against my back;