Guidepostsの August 2017 の目次

Ah, August. That month when we take a deep breath and enjoy the summer before it’s gone. That it goes fast is something everyone seems to agree on. How many times do we catch ourselves saying, “I can’t believe it’s almost fall”? August is when we slow down time, even as the days get shorter. We listen to a ballgame on the radio, sitting outside in the citronella-scented night. We read a book we’ve been promising ourselves we’d get to all year. We nap in the sun, our skin greased with SPF 30. We retreat to mildly musty cabins in the woods or at the beach and dispense with shoes for a while. We fall asleep to the sound of the surf or the hoot of an owl, or lie…

“ When fear knocks, let faith answer the door.” Good Morning America anchor ROBIN ROBERTS on the advice she’d give new college graduates “There is no such thing as too late in life.” what PROFESSOR MORRIE SCHWARTZ told writer Mitch Albom for the book Tuesdays With Morrie, which is celebrating its twentieth year in print “More than anything, praying helps me concentrate and let go of things that don’t matter in that moment. It gives me peace knowing I’m in good hands.” swimmer KATIE LEDECKY, five-time Olympic gold medalist “Courage is nothing more than taking one step more than you think you can.” HOLLY LISLE, American writer and poet “Enjoy life. Be healthy. Share a smile.” message printed on a New York City parking garage receipt “The people I’m most impressed…

“ Momma, why do you have to work? My friends’ moms don’t work.” I was braiding my sixyear- old daughter Morgan’s hair, getting her ready for school. She could not have picked a worse time to ask such a big question. Mornings in our household were chaos with three little girls—Morgan, two-year-old Brynn and five-month-old Hadley. They all went to school and day care while I worked as a licensed clinical social worker at the military post near Tacoma, Washington, where my husband, Cody, was an officer. It was a miracle we got out the door each day, amid a whirlwind of lost shoes, missing coats and toddler dawdling. “Stuff costs money, sweetheart,” I said. “If I didn’t work, we couldn’t afford those clothes you’re wearing.” Morgan’s expression told me…

SISTERS OF HOPE Once a week, without fail, my coworker Rachel typed up prayer requests at our church. That morning I heard the clicking of her keyboard right on schedule. Abruptly the typing stopped, and Rachel sighed in frustration. “What’s wrong?” I asked. “It’s just the Miller sisters again,” she said. The Miller sisters were longtime parishioners who were featured in our church’s prayer bulletin every week. What kind of problem could they possibly be? “Every week for two years,” Rachel elaborated, “they’ve requested the same prayer.” “Bring back our girls,” I repeated from memory. “I know.” The prayer referred to the 287 girls in Nigeria who’d been kidnapped from their school by the terrorist group Boko Haram. In the three years since the mass abduction, some of the girls…

Positive Role Actor John Corbett (page 30) talks about playing a pastor in the upcoming movie All Saints and how he discovered Norman Vincent Peale’s Positive Imaging. guideposts.org/allsaints Dog Days Brandon McMillan (page 58), host of CBS’s Lucky Dog, tells how training dogs to be companions to military veterans became his higher calling. Meet some of his star pupils at guideposts.org/luckydog. Life Is a Highway Planning to hit the road one more time this summer? Check out our gallery of roadside attractions. guideposts.org/roadside Farming With a Purpose Farmer Michael Hayden (page 48) feeds hungry families by sharing crops with schoolkids. See Michael in action at guideposts.org/mhayden.…

It was one of those weeks when every little thing that could go wrong did. The oven light went out. The bathroom faucet started leaking. I couldn’t remember how to set the DVR. All painful reminders that my late husband wasn’t around to look out for me anymore. George and I had been married for 56 years. Though he’d been gone for two, I still couldn’t get used to being on my own. I even showed up to meet a friend for breakfast on the wrong day. Finally, Saturday. It was my turn to make lunch for our prayer group, something George and I used to do together. I put all the food into Tupperware, then into a box for the 45-mile drive to where the group was meeting. Just…

There was a tall, darkhaired young man standing beside the front desk at the university rec center that day in June, looking around expectantly. His eyes landed on me, and his gaze sharpened. “Millie?” I nodded. “Hi, I’m Sam,” he said, giving me a firm handshake. “Your new trainer.” He had to be some kind of überathlete. Well over six feet tall. Lean and muscular. There’s got to be some mistake, I thought. No way does he want to work with me. I’d dragged myself to the gym. Why, I wasn’t sure. I’d been going to the rec center for a year and had almost nothing to show for it. Even working with a personal trainer hadn’t helped. I’d already had three different trainers. Just when it seemed as if…

The hallways at walter reed National Military Medical Center all looked the same to me. It was like making my way through a maze. I asked a nurse for directions, trying to ignore the knots in my stomach. Everyone I passed stared at the massive Doberman at my side. Some even started following us. I made a conscious effort to hold Apollo’s lead loosely. I didn’t want him to sense my tension, though as smart as he was, he probably picked up on it. We’d spent months preparing for this moment. What if all that work had been for nothing? What if I was wrong and there were some dogs who couldn’t be trained? What if I’d failed to teach Apollo to do the most important job I’d ever trained…

John Corbett (Blue Collar, page 30) says portraying Pastor Michael Spurlock in the film All Saints (allsaintsmovie.com) had a positive influence on him. “When I came back from filming, I tried to develop more compassion and patience,” John says. “I listen more closely to people, wait until they finish what they’re saying. I stopped to see if a motorcyclist needed help. I hope the audience takes away a little bit of compassion.” John has also become friendly with the Capuchin Franciscan monks at San Lorenzo Seminary, which is so close to his ranch that the photo crew for this issue’s shoot could hear its bells. They remind John of his days as an altar boy. “When the bells ring, I stop what I’m doing and reflect,” he says. “Leaving a…

EARTH FRIENDLY As a child, I’d pick up discarded pop bottles. It helped keep my neighborhood neat. Plus, when I returned the bottles to the store for their deposit, I got money to buy penny candy. That habit has stayed with me into adulthood—except now I also pick up the litter I find in the parks near my home. And instead of spending the deposit refunds on candy, I save them to donate to my favorite environmental organizations at the end of the year. Not only am I keeping our parks clean for people to enjoy now, but I am also helping preserve the earth for future generations. Good stewardship feels good. STOP AND CHAT I live on the very busy main street of a small town. More and more…

most of my career i’ve played the nice guy, the romantic interest with a heart of gold. I’m really comfortable in those supporting roles. So my role in the new movie All Saints, as an Episcopal priest who’s assigned to a small church in Smyrna, Tennessee, was a definite challenge. Not that Michael Spurlock, who’s a real person—the movie is inspired by a true story—isn’t a good guy. But I’d never played the lead, a character who’s on every page of the script, and it scared me. Yet something made me say yes to it. Michael arrives at All Saints with orders to close the church down. The congregation has only a dozen members and can’t make the mortgage payments anymore. No reason to keep the place open, right? Not…

2 pounds grape or cherry tomatoes, halved, or 2 large tomatoes, chopped 6 garlic cloves, smashed Handful of fresh basil leaves, torn 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 teaspoon coarse salt 5 ears fresh sweet corn, in the husk Fresh Tomato and Corn Mélange A summery pasta sauce or relish for grilled meat, poultry and fish Preheat the oven to 400°F. Combine the tomatoes, garlic, basil, oil and salt in a large bowl. Meanwhile, place the unshucked ears of corn in the oven and roast for about 20 minutes (you’ll smell the aroma of sweet corn when they’re done). Let the corn cool in the husks. Remove the husks and shave the kernels off the cobs into the tomato mixture. Stir and use as desired. Preparing several hours in advance…

SPIRITUAL ALLIES Nearly 20 years ago, Guideposts published From Grand Central to Bucharest (February 2000), my story of founding Archway (archway romania.org), a nonprofit that helps children living in the streets and sewers of Romania. When the story ran, Archway was still new; we hadn’t done any work yet. I returned from a four-month trip to Romania shortly after and found we’d received $180,000 in donations— mostly from Guideposts readers. Your belief in my plan has sustained Archway all these years. We distribute clothing, have a jobs program and are now focusing on getting the kids their identity papers, without which they cannot go to school, a hospital or even church. Every time I send out a newsletter, I receive more prayers and support. Most of the readers who responded…