I love to jog in the early hours of the morning. Often, when I reach a certain spot, I hear a rooster crowing. The first time I heard it, I thought, ‘Who has a rooster in our neighborhood?’  I had a good idea of whose backyard he resided in until, on another jog, I ran a different route and heard the crowing coming from another neighborhood adja...

 What would make a young woman travel all the way from Vancouver, Washington, to West Columbia, South Carolina for brain surgery? Amelia Bussell decided that Jonathan A. Engh, MD, of the Lexington Medical Center Brain Tumor Program was the best doctor in the country to save her life. The 27-year-old woman came to that conclusion after months of ...

The Ultimate Battle of Good VS. Evil  In the summer of 2020, I started watching ABC’s Once Upon a Time on Netflix. Given that I’ve always loved fairy tales and the simple life lessons gleaned from them, a series based on familiar characters with happy endings seemed like a good way to escape for an hour or two.  However, between the pages of t...

When no unhealthy products reside behind the door of your pantry and fridge, you won't be tempted to stray in moments of weakness.

How A 'New Normal' Gave Me Reason to Search My Heart. I would never have expected to have to complete most of my spring 2020 college semester online. Due to Covid-19, I moved back home to embrace a new normal. Class lectures turned into pre-recorded sessions on my laptop, two-hour classroom exams turned into online assessments, and face-to-face...

Forgiveness Can Be a Process  I had barely started school when a charming woman waltzed into my father’s life. It wasn’t long after that she also entered mine as my stepmother. My memories of her are grisly.  I remember feeling startled and bewildered when she burst into my room and hurled my clothes onto the floor, the ones she had grudgingly f...

Hope Still Lives Here For many, home is our safe space. In our familiar surroundings, a favorite chair, the kitchen table, and the people we love, we climb into bed at night feeling safe and secure.  On May 23, 2020, just before 1:00 a.m. this sense of security was shaken for two families when a storm tore through Lexington South Carolina.  Shak...

Vows Honored, Even After Circumstances Changed A young man of twenty met the girl of his dreams. After a whirlwind courtship of only two months, this excited young chap was looking forward to a future of wedded bliss with his young bride of eighteen. Little did he know, life would throw them a curveball. A test of faith, commitment, and integrit...

Do you ever get bored with your devotional time? Ever feel like what you’re doing isn’t producing the spiritual results you hoped for?

Consider interval training.

Tips for Staying Grounded When Life Feels Upside Down I cannot count how many times lately I’ve heard, “I just want things to get back to normal.” I get it. These last few months have thrown all of our lives off-track, and we want our “normal” back. What was normal? It was going to church, feeling free to shake a hand and give a hug. It was gett...