I’m standing at stiff attention in my too-tight fitting red jogging suit. The instructor paces through the hotel conference room full of 25 Indonesians and foreigners, all wearing the same red uniforms, to inspect our stances. He suddenly calls for an about-face. My timing is a little off, as I actually spin the wrong …
“Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.” – Isaiah 9:1 This prophecy of the coming Messiah, written 700 years before Jesus was born, foretold of a special child that would grow so strong the entire government would “rest on his shoulders.” This Anointed One would be called “Wonderful …
I have a heart friend named David Arcos. Every time we’re together, this one-of-a-kind worshipper of God makes my heart sing. He helps me to celebrate the creative spirit, and he inspires me with his passion to serve orphans in Zambia. David is attempting to do the impossible. He lives with a God-sized dream of …
Today I sifted through some nostalgic papers and photos my mom kept when she was still alive on this earth. I came across this ode to the Creator, written by my uncle Dave, who also wrote the hit song “Wildflower.” This is one of those rare poems that deserves to be relished; ever so slowly, …
By David Arcos GUEST CONTRIBUTER to FaithActivators We are eternal ripples of hope. We are road signs for the wanderer. We are those that weapon ourselves with brush and baton with bow and camera. We are the poets that splash images of beauty and breath. Like rescue workers we carve through fallen mines, dispelling …
Apostle Paul stood in the Areopagus and said that God arranges our lives so that we will seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being. I have good news for you. …
When Cyndi and I arrived in Southeast Asia eleven years ago, our family was battered by a relentless wave of medical difficulties, especially with our children. Ten month old Josiah was the hardest hit. After the first few months we stopped counting the times his fevers would soar to 105F while we were up through …
“Her shoes are nowhere to be found!” “What?” I said aghast, not really believing that Bree’s nice tennis shoes were really swiped just like that. The youth group volunteer and I continued the frantic search around the front entrance of our “empowerment center,” a place set in a poor Indonesian neighborhood, designed to …
Eight-year-old Dika twists around in his wheel chair, trying to hold his head up enough to get a good look at us. He smiles. By the look of the bumpy roads our team traveled to get to his house, I don’t think his wheelchair ever leaves the front porch. He pretty much stays put …
BEYOND DESPERATE, SHE WAS FOUND BY HOPE Earlier today, I walked with my ten year old son Stephen through the National Gallery of Art here in Washington DC. I was amazed at Stephen's ability to feel the art, and to easily identify which pieces touched him and why. Both of us were mesmerized by a certain painting …