Bracted Twistflower at Barton Creek Wilderness Park_April 24, 2024_Edit I

Twistflower Cross

By Noah Guthrie. The sprouting of these seeds echoes another resurrection, and their tattered flowers recall another body raised on a stem to be pierced, tortured, and buried. “Truly, truly, I say to you,” Jesus said, “unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (John 12:24).

Swallow-tailed Kite_Edit I

Birding with Hope: A Review of Courtney Ellis’s “Looking Up – A Birder’s Guide to Hope through Grief”

By Simon Stuart. As the birds accompany her on her journey from grief to hope, Ellis weaves in reflections on almost all of life. She gives us thoughtful insights to being a wife, mom, pastor, daughter, granddaughter, sister, friend – always in a way that rings true. She muses on the character of God, the state of the church and society, and much more, with great wisdom.

2024-07-12 10.06.27

My Roots Will Reach to the Water

By Rev. David Schoenknecht.

There’s nothing quite like the twilight crescendo of a million humming mosquitos to make you forget the roaring of urban traffic. The morning mist that rises silently between rocky islets stills the soul. The clarity of water that’s potable without treatment refreshes the spirit. The sudden appearance of a summer squall—with no apps to predict its coming—and then the swift parting of its ragged clouds like a curtain to reveal the Milky Way restores our wonder.