A gentle reflection for independent women navigating a noisy and uncertain world. This essay explores how compassion—quiet, grounded, and deeply human—can become a meaningful form of civic engagement. Instead of withdrawing when public life feels overwhelming, it invites readers to practice neighborlieness as a courageous way of showing up for their communities. With practical, sustainable tips for staying informed, building small connections, and engaging without burnout, this reflection offers a hopeful path toward participating in civic life with clarity, dignity, and care.

This is a short story; an echo of a poem already shared, where the lines learned how to breathe, linger, and become something fuller.

I loved deeply—and still had to walk away. This essay explores romance through the lens of faith, obedience, and the cost of choosing God when emotions say otherwise.

It’s about my mom who passed away named Geraldine . She recently died of a botched surgery from the doctors who tried to remove her gallbladder. The surgery was not successful and she ended up dieing a day after my birthday. It was very difficult for me since me and my mom were like best friends! I am too miss her very much and it was therapeutic for me to express myself completely! I wanted the reader too simple feel what I am experiencing? It’s also a beautiful writing for Mother’s Day especially if you have gone through losing a love one whom you love very much! I only hope that all whom read this are touched because it was heart felt in the deepest way that I can imagined.

This story shows that you are never too far gone and that God will always be there to pick you up and guide you.

Create ma a story where I'm named Yukio Komori, 19 year old college student.. -I should've left earlier with Yui I'm sorry Yui... I was angry since I was supposed to be at college right now ... Growing up me and Yui gre up in a chruch and he pastor/priest became our father we're both christian mostly catholic dince we both have cross necklaces but Yui has the necklace I have the bracelet, as kids we always went to church but now we both also attend ... I regret every second .. I should've escaped sooner with Yui.. But thanks to my father I'm here . Today was the day we visit the Sakamaki household with our suitcases... Our first encounter was when we saw Ayato on the couch ... Since Laito declares that the prizes will be me and Yui. Shū wins the game and walks off without claiming his prize until Laito pushes me towards him. If only if I knew life was about to get worse.

In the struggle between the physical and the spiritual, we often mistake our own endurance for our own strength. These two pieces explore the same battle from two different lenses: the prophetic 'big picture' and the raw, first-person testimony of standing under divine protection.

"In the struggle between the physical and the spiritual, we often mistake our own endurance for our own strength. These two pieces explore the same battle from two different lenses: the prophetic 'big picture' and the raw, first-person testimony of standing under divine protection."

This poem comes from Genesis chapter 25. This is how Isaac ended up putting a blessing on his second son Jacob instead of his first son Esau.

This poem is written from the perspective of Jesus Christ. I wrote this during my junior year of college.

Looking back at Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King’s last sermon at the National Cathedral through the lens of contemporary Bishops Mariann Budde and Craig Loya towards a future where we are all Beloved Community.

Dr. Charles Palmer, asserts “Everyone is interested in habits in their own lives” or the cycle of habits they experience everyday (American Psychological Association). To be honest, we all deal with the cycle of habits that we don’t like.

Welcome! I hope this story has come across to those who believe in the Lord, or to those that have been curious. This is my story of the first and only time I have experienced urgency sent by the Holy Spirit.

First look at little Bright a young deer just wanting to live a life of thanks to God for every blessing, though the good and hard times. While his Two brothers see no need to be thankful for things they view is of their own will.

Many of the "weird" passages in the Bible (stories of giants, divine beings, cosmic conflict, and the supernatural) tend to be ignored or flattened into allegory because they don't fit neatly into the modern, rationalistic worldview most people inherit. Since Western culture has been shaped by Enlightenment thinking, anything that sounds too supernatural is often treated as symbolic to make it more palatable. On top of that, church traditions sometimes emphasize theological systems that prefer tidy categories, encouraging readers to smooth out passages that are hard to explain. As a result, instead of letting the text speak in its own ancient context, where a divine council, spiritual beings, and cosmic geography were normal, modern interpreters often reinterpret or dismiss these verses to avoid discomfort. Because these supernatural elements aren't taught clearly or taken seriously, our understanding of the Bible ends up incomplete and sometimes distorted.

On the day we celebrate Harriet Bedell, a deaconess of the Episcopal Church (TEC), we remember a woman whose quiet courage opened space for dignity, healing, and hope. From Alaska to the Florida Everglades, Bedell lived as though every person bore the image of God. The story of her life invites us to consider where we, too, are being called to walk with faith and trust. This reflection, the first in our 2026 series Stories That Open Space: Women Who Walked Ahead, explores Bedell’s legacy, spiritual practices shaped by her witness, and the gentle beginning of a year that asks us to listen, to show up, and to make room for holy possibility.

In 2026, we are going to spend a year walking with women who widened the world. Each month, Stories That Open the Way will follow women who made space for courage, hope and holy possibility, as well as exploring spiritual practices inspired by their stories that steady the soul, and ground us in faith. It’s a year for women walking their own path, for becoming, and for making space for the story you’re living now.

Today (5 January) the calendar names three Desert Mothers: Sarah, Theodora, and Syncletica. They lived on the edges of fourth‑ and fifth‑century Christian life, practicing prayer, hospitality, and stubborn attention in quiet places. For busy people, their witness is practical: small, reliable habits that protect interior life and make generosity possible.

Moses wasn't a missionary; he was a refugee. The standard Sunday school narrative suggests a prince of Egypt, steeped in the polytheism of the Nile, fled to a "backward" desert and brought the light of the One True God to nomadic sheep-herders. Text, and the archaeology, shows the exact opposite. Moses didn’t go to the desert to teach; he went to learn. He didn't bring God to the Midianites; the Midianites introduced him to the God of the Mountain.

This verse is very important to friendship because a friend is one who is consistent in their time. One who does not lunge out in haste.