It is popular nowadays to conceive of all people as children of God. However, the Bible says that those without Christ are actually...

Want to Listen? He was the most unlikely individual for the mission. He was young and untrained; he had never even held a sword before. He was not strong physically, and he was so soft on the inside that even seeing a wilted flower brought tears to his eyes. He was new to the kingdom too and knew little about the land or the king or the subjects. He was naïve as well, and gullible—foolishly ignorant of the enemy and his lurking traps. Indeed, there were a thousand other perso

Want to Listen? We were hiking in Black Mesa State Park, Oklahoma. The sweat poured down our faces in the harsh sun, and waves of heat rose from the surrounding desert-lands. Then, suddenly, we spotted him. A flaming blue-orange speck moving speedily through the grass and dirt. What is he? He is a Festive Tiger Beetle. The Festive Tiger Beetle is a brightly colored beetle which lives east of the Rockies. It ranges in size from 11-14 millimeters. These beetles are diurnal and

Want to Watch? ©2025 by Jenny, Paul, Joe, Joshua, and Caleb Venturo Darting here and there, up the current, down it, between the rocks, through the water—he tries to dodge my attempts to view his bright colors. A minnow—keeping ever on the bottom—bright stripes, large fins—he is a darter. A rainbow darter—his name betrays his habits and looks. And it was in the Current River in Missouri where we found him. We just had an afternoon to wade in the river and get some fresh air b

Have you ever heard of a cholla (pronounced CHOY-uh)? In case you haven’t, it is a large cactus that grows like a bush, its thick green...

Photo by Joe Venturo Psalm 93 “Mightier than the thunders of many waters, mightier than the waves of the sea, the LORD on high is...

“Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle...

Part 2: The Sinfulness of Mankind Why review the Gospel? If you have been a believer for a while, you may feel tired of hearing the...

We had been looking forward to paddleboarding on this river for a long time. When we pulled up to our campground, I looked out the window...

Once upon a time, in the land of dreams, there lived two kings, King Just and King Greed. They both had beautiful land to rule, but King Just had the most beautiful land. He also had more wealth.  Now, one day, King Just invited King Greed to stay a week at his castle. The week went by quickly, for King Greed enjoyed seeing all the wonderful things King Just had. Before leaving, King Greed went through a closet when no one else was around. King Greed saw a beautiful crown of

What would you like your last words to be? Funny question—have you ever thought about it before? Throughout history, people have uttered...

Want to Listen? It was a beautiful day on the Emerald Coast, Florida. It was a tad rough and a bit more turbid than usual, which was perfect for fishing. As I sat in the warm sun watching my rod, I decided some swimming would not be amiss, so I hopped in. I could still see my rod, and I couldn’t resist the clear, cool water. After a little swimming and still no fishing action, I did some skimboarding, with frequent glances over at my rod. Still no action. We ate lunch. No act

We don’t like rain. Not at all. The mere mention of rain makes us shudder. We absolutely loathe rain. Rain is a trial to be endured. And...

Want to Listen? There was once a country called Shadow Hills where many different people lived. Now you may think that Shadow Hills was a horrible place to live. The name makes it sound like a dark place where there is no sunshine. But it actually wasn’t a bad place to be. In fact, the people who lived there loved it. Despite it’s name, Shadow Hills wasn’t dark all the time—there was night and day just like we have, and Shadow Hills had a sun. There were two reasons, then, wh

Photo by Jenny Venturo Should Christians mention or discuss hell when they share the Gospel with the world? In today’s society, the world...

Want to Listen? America’s Florida Keys are home to a wide range of animals. The Keys are located off the Southernmost tip of Florida, making them subtropical. Among many other species are Florida Horse Conchs, Portuguese Man-of-Wars, and iguanas. A Live Florida Horse Conch Florida Horse Conchs are common mollusks in the waters around the Keys. A mollusk has a slimy, soft body and a hard shell. Florida Horse Conchs are large shells—24 inches—and are carnivores. They have an op

Photo by Jenny Venturo We are not a typical family, and we have never done things in the typical way. Nobody who travels full-time in an...

Want to Listen? Once upon a time, there were two small hermit crabs who lived on a tropical island in the middle of the ocean. Their names were Mertz and Ninnis. Now you may think these were funny names, but these names fit the crabs well. In case you didn’t know, there were two men who lived during the early 1900s whose names were Mertz and Ninnis. These two men were explorers in Antarctica. The reason the names Mertz and Ninnis were fitting for these crabs was because these

Photo by Paul Venturo “Ouch!” My elbow hits the counter. My leg knocks something off the shelf. I pull and strain. By the time I get the...

Photo by Jenny Venturo One of the most important truths any of us could realize is that none of us can get to God on our own. If you’ve...

©2025 by Jenny Venturo Want to Listen? You may think that monkeys are a far away, tropical animal that you’ll never be able to see except at a zoo. But what many of us don’t realize is that there are moneys right under our noses in Florida.   The sun was shining as we paddled down the Silver River in central Florida. There were anhingas and herons all along the banks, and the occasional alligator sunned itself on a log. We had brought our goggles so that we could peer into th

Photo by Jenny Venturo While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother,...

Photo by Jenny Venturo Dad is in the passenger seat. It is funny to see him there because he usually drives. And he does not look very...

Want to Listen? Long, long ago, at the very beginning of time, two people, a man and a woman, the first that God ever created, took a bite of forbidden fruit . . . and with that one bite, changed the course of history. Things had been so wonderful, so perfect. The man and the woman had lived in a beautiful world where there were no such things as pain or tears or fights. There was no sorrow. There was no death. And best of all, these two people were friends with God. They liv