One of the most amazing and encouraging things about being a Christian is that someday, although your body may die, you will live again...

Have you ever made things right with someone after a fight? It is difficult and requires humility, but the restoration it achieves always...

©2025 by Daniel Venturo Iridescent green and blue. White wing patches. An extremely long tail. He flies through the grasslands, on his...

“Why sleep outside when you’ve got a house?” - Hudson the mouse   Among the things that we decided were important enough to bring with us...

“Someone’s fixed a rope,” a fellow climber called up to us from the notch, “so you’re good!” We were on the summit of 14,155 ft. Mt. Sneffels in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado. The weather was spectacular, the view was breathtaking, but our feelings were mixed as we crouched on the rocky crest surrounded by empty sky, the highest point for miles around. We were exultant in our triumph, apprehensive about what was yet to come, shaky and on edge from the effects of the adre

Many people are afraid to come to Christ because they believe He will shackle them to a list of religious rules. They recognize that...

Great Sand Dunes Tiger Beetle Fascinating, strange, exotic bugs. Australian deserts are alive with them. Amazon jungles crawl with them....

The south face of Humboldt Peak I cringed every time I thought about it. That long, sawtooth ridge sweeping up to the summit was locked...

Want to Listen? In the silence of the night, a lone coyote prowled. Overhead, a full moon cast its silver light. It gleamed off the quivering aspen leaves and created shifting shadows on the forest floor as it sifted through the spruce boughs. The silence was eerie, broken only by the stirrings of a mink in the leaves or the soft murmur of an owl in the trees. Quickly and quietly the coyote moved, her quavering nose close to the earth as she searched for promising smells. At

Should you go against the current? I guess that depends on the direction of the current, the direction you want to go, and how much...

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 and high priest” (Hebrews 3:1). Many kinds of thoughts swirl through our minds every day—anxious ones, wrong ones, inaccurate ones. Pressures, disappointments, memories, ambitions, and plans can weigh heavily upon our hearts. But the greatest of all thoughts is the Lord Jesus, and in Hebrews 3:1, God commands believers to fix their thoughts

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