It’s Friday, and you’re tired. Not just tired—you’re exhausted. You walk into your 9 a.m. “Just four more classes, and I’m done,” you whisper to yourself. You sit in class, mind racing to everything you must do that day, and it seems impossible. “I can’t do this,” you think.     It’s the final

Willpower. Sometimes that means thriving, and sometimes that means dying. Okay. Not dying. But giving it every last ounce of coffee energy you have.     While I was growing up, playing sports was energy, my thing, and music was my sister’s thing. I could usually beat my sister at any sport. Volleyball. Soccer. Whatever.     Then, when I was away at

“Coming, Hannah?”     A friend poked her head into the bunkhouse, letting yellow light spill through the door and into the night. I stuffed a few extra snacks into my backpack and pulled my coat over a spare sweatshirt. Even summer nights in Colorado turn frigid at 10,000 feet in elevation. I hurried from the bunkhouse, strangely eager for this

When I was a boy, I thought going to sea was a great adventure that would be good fun. I would spend hours watching the ships come and go out of Whitby Harbor or spying on the workers in the shipyards as they constructed the great vessels. When I finally came of age, I fell prey to the lies of

“You ready?” Raymond grasped the hand of the gentle woman beside him. She tucked a piece of caramel-colored hair behind her ear, looked him in the eyes, and nodded. He breathed in a full chest of the sleepy air surrounding their bare storefront as he led her through the glass door. Let’s do this.     “Oh no,” Raymond whispered. They

He was aware of bright light and heat and something wet on the side of his face. Adam swam in and out of consciousness, battling to wake up. He opened his eyes only to squeeze them shut once more against the glaring brightness. He opened his eyes again, this time barely a squint, and looked around. Everything looked weird, and

Willa’s front door burst open with a crack, and light flooded in, shoving the darkness back. A bright white light and behind that, blue and red and blue and red that whirled around and around endlessly. Willa stared at these lights with doe eyes and a tilt of her head but understood the colors only when the overwhelming deafness

How do I start things in my day? By waiting for a vision. Say, A creature inspiration brings. She makes me want to do good things. And yet, when inspiration hits, My willpower is blown to bits. It’s easier to start a game Called “Do It Later.” Shifting blame, The creature tells me I can go Without a thought

Resting in You. Trusting in You. Content in You.         What do I really want from You? Are my desires correctly placed? What brings me satisfaction in life?         Is it You?         Oh Lord,         May I yearn for Your truth. May I strive to be continually digging         for the treasure You have hidden in Your Word May I be in your will,

What would I learn if I had not begun The journey on this dark and crooked path? God possesses joy and also wrath, And on this horrid day I feel but one. My weary feet can only walk the race; The clouds ahead grow thicker by the hour. Did God forget to grant me greater power? What hurting heart can

She will never understand how a heart that bleeds every day Can find the air to love And the strength to bleed again tomorrow.

When the shadows grew long, I fell in a field and buried my face in the dirt.     My sleep I gave to lengthen the days, My muscles to run through walls, My brain to prepare for myriad crises, My time to run the backdrop of the world, My lifeblood to give others drink, and My sweat to lift their burdens.

“So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hell followed with him...” —Revelation 6:8a           I draw near to the Light. Put to death the old man. Starve the attention seeker; the searcher of the unfaithful for personal lust. I will set apart the slave of fervor for