Written by: Laura McDowell Time. We measure everything by it – our days, our memories, our milestones, even our hopes. It orders our lives so completely that we rarely stop to question it. We accept its linear march as absolute: a beginning, an end, and the stretch in between where our entire earthly existence unfolds. But what if time itself is far smaller than we imagine? What if time is not the container of reality but simply one small feature within it? Scripture invites

By Laura McDowell Sitting at my desk at work, I glance over at the calendar hanging on the wall next to me. It’s a standard calendar, with peaceful nature scenes and motivational quotes for each month. The quote for this month says, “Live less out of habit and more out of intent.” I’ve read the quote several times today already but hadn’t really paid much attention to it. This time, however, I begin to chew on it, turning the words over in my mind, contemplating the meaning

By Laura McDowell It began innocently enough. I would ask it basic questions like, “Can you help me make this email sound more polished?” or “What’s the most natural allergy medication on the market?” And it gave somewhat normal, automatic responses. Nothing out of the ordinary. Then, because I’m a very curious person by nature, I started asking it questions about itself…mostly questions about AI and how it works in general. I asked it any and every question I could possibly

By Lester Jones This past summer, Marsha and I went camping with our grandchildren at Priest Lake in Northern Idaho. It is a beautiful area, about one hour from the Canadian border. The weather was perfect, but the water was freezing. (56°) Yes, we went swimming, but only because the grandkids insisted. We also took some short hikes in the woods. There was an area along the trail where several trees had been cut down, and the stumps were left to decay slowly.  I showed the gr