The Collection - By Author

The weighted ivory keys beckoned me closer. Accepting their invitation, I drew out the piano bench, arranged my sheet music, and arched my fingers slightly. As the first notes of Beethoven’s Für Elise lingered in the air, I was transported from the parlor to a place of soul that didn’t exist before I began piano lessons. Let it be known — I am far from a piano prodigy.

Fear not; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.Luke 2:11Each year and just in time for Christmas, my dear family gathers in the warmth of our cozy living room on a winter’s eve. The wood stove has been freshly stoked and the nostalgic scent of citrus and clove diffuses through the air as a fresh pomander dries on the mantle.

Written by Sarah Guthrie:It had become a treasured Sunday morning rhythm in the "coming of age" season in my life. While the rest of our house had a classic case of get-out-the-door-in-time-for-church mayhem, time slowed to a leisurely pace as I admired the adept movements my step-mom made in sweeping a trace of blush across her cheek.

 ...Try me and know my thoughts...Psalm 139:23Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.Psalm 51:7bI shut my eyes tightly as another wave of remembrance washed over me. There. It had happened again. Another thought that I didn’t even conjure up presented itself before my very eyes. Ever had one of those moments?

 And whatever you do,Do it heartily, as to the Lord...Colossians 3:23Dear reader,Have you ever wondered how to escape the frivolous undertow of the 21st-century lifestyle? Have you ever had the longing to live for “something more” than the trending tides of our here-today, gone-tomorrow world?

...then let her surrender herself, and follow God along whatever path her loving Lord thinks fit to lead her: whether it be to contemplation or action, to usefulness or enjoyment; whether in sorrow or in joy, let her follow on.– Tauler It was a summer day in sunny Colorado ... yet my mind was 2,000 miles east of where I stood.

Romance novels, chick-flicks, sensual magazines, and more — everywhere we look there are land mines of relational compromise awaiting us. As Christians, it’s easy to turn to the “tamer” versions of these things to fulfill our desire to fantasize about our own personal fairy tale and imagine the charming prince