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Australian novelist Morris West suggests that at a certain age our lives simplify and we need have only three phrases left in our spiritual vocabulary: “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” English minister John Henry Jowett once observed, “Gratitude is a vac­cine, an antitoxin, and an antiseptic.” What better cure for what ails society today—choosing…

Today is World Kindness Day. Who knew? Frankly, I believe every day should be World Kindness Day. Because we can choose each day—each moment really—to act kindly, to take the high road and not react with indignation, irritation, or impatience. Sadly, this choice to be kind is more often the exception than the rule these…

Because Encouragement is a Choice Lucinda Secrest McDowell As a child he was called Fat Freddy. The other kids bullied and viciously mocked him. He carried this pain inside, hidden to many who knew him. To combat the loneliness he often felt, Freddy used stuffed animals and puppets to create whole new worlds in his…

What She Surrendered… Lucinda Secrest McDowell Sitting on the floor of the attic after uncovering a little ceramic plaque, I realized anew how letting go must be one of the hardest choices a person ever has to make. The plaque displayed a Dutch prayer, the English translation carefully handwritten on the back by a young…

How Story Could Change the World Lucinda Secrest McDowell “Daddy, please tell us a story!” we begged. We had just finished another supper of corn bread, Georgia field peas, baked ham, fresh tomato slices, and, of course, sweet iced tea. My sisters and I had cleared the dishes, and now came the time we eagerly…