life. faithful.

 Thomas...oh, Thomas. His life as a follower of Yeshua is so often overshadowed by the title, "Doubting Thomas," due to his insistence on needing to see for himself the proof that his Messiah had risen from the dead. Yet here he is, shown in a very different light. Jesus was telling His friends that they were about to head back to Judea, the place where the people had already tried to kill Him at least twice. Thomas tried to be the voice of reason--"Hey, um... the last time You were there, they tried to stone You to death, remember?" Yet despite the reminder, Jesus was choosing to go back. We remember him for his doubt, but here we have a very clear picture of a different side of Thomas: "Let’s go so we can die with Him." (John 11:16) Too often in the United States, we forget that followers of Christ are not promised a life of ease. In fact, the Jewish Messiah we follow--the One who was despised and rejected by the very people He came to save--promised the

 My oldest daughter is an artist. She has a sketchbook with her at pretty much all times, and she has the kind of skill that is unimaginable to me. She studies the techniques of others all the time, and right now she's teaching herself animation. Her goal is to one day make children's television programs, shows that parents will know are safe for their kids and teach traditional values. She's graduating next month, so she's being asked all the time what her plans are for college. I've listened to her tell people many times, and it makes me sad. I finally asked her to do me a favor the other day: "Please stop apologizing when you tell people what you're going to study." I think it caught her a little off guard, but her response? It was something along the lines of, "But Mom, I'm going to be an art major . That's who all the jokes are about." I asked her what I thought of at the time: "Are you making the decision that you think God