Like most of you, my parents taught me to say “please” and “thank you” at an early age.

Over the years, though, those words have become much more meaningful to me than just an expected response or socially correct etiquette. Expressions of true gratitude, flowing from my heart, are difficult to stop — and never is this more true than when I’m witnessing the power of God in this world. read more

This Mother’s Day will be the 13th since my mother died. Her death ended four years of being bedfast, unable to do anything except sometimes eat. She was not a perfect mother, but for a woman who lost her mother when she was 12 and had only an elementary education, she did amazing things. I know that she prayed every day for me and my sister who is 16 years younger than me. She was a reader from her childhood, and her wide reading gave her an amazing grasp of world events. read more