by Kendra Scott

I’m going to start this off by doing what my family calls “Gratitudes.” It’s what we say as grace before a meal, a way of saying ‘thank you, God’ for the good in your day so far. As I see it, this interning experience was my spiritual meal. So I guess I’m doing my grace after the meal.

The biggest lesson I’ve learned during my internship couldn’t have been planned. It came about from simply watching everyone around me enjoy their days in all of the departments I worked in. To be honest, I’d never had a 9-5, sit at a desk with a computer sort of a job before…or any conventional job, really. I’ve always spent my summers being a camp counselor. And then during the school year, I worked as a life guard for a 4 or 5 hours each day.

(more…)

Gwen B. - Christian Science Sentinel, July 23–30, 2007

When I was in fifth grade, my class had a picnic at a lake near our school. Beyond the groomed lawns and the picnic tables was a field of very tall, uncut grass. A friend and I went there to play, gathering handfuls of the long-stemmed grass, waving them at one another, and generally romping about in it. When our teacher happened by, she casually commented, “I’m glad neither of you has allergies.”

(more…)

by John Biggs

All these places I’ve been…all the places I’m going…all the places I hope to go, or maybe places I have no plan of going to…whether I think of them as physical locations, mental states, or social or employment situations, there are so many places to choose from, or simply be put in. And sometimes it hits me that no matter where I go or what I do, there’s someone or some thing left behind.

But what if I didn’t think of place as one thing inherently separate from other places? What if I looked past the senses, no matter how beautiful or ugly, and simply saw this place as a day of salvation and an opportunity to glorify God?

(more…)

Dorothy P. - The Christian Science Journal, Jan. 2008

I had an experience in my sophomore year of high school that really challenged my ability to feel God in my life. I swim on my high school swim team. I’m always nervous before races, but this particular year, fear paralyzed me. I felt nauseous throughout each race. I swim the long races—200– and 500–meter freestyle—so that’s a long time to feel sick and sluggish.

As always, I turned to God for help, but my prayers were empty. I felt as though God had forgotten me. I even called a Christian Science practitioner for help, but I completely fell apart at Sectionals and States—two big swim meets. This situation caused me to greatly doubt my ability to pray. I kept wondering what I was doing wrong. I never doubted God, but I did doubt my ability to practice Christian Science.

My mom was a great help. She assured me that God had not forgotten me and that I would be able to find healing. However, she told me not to wait until the next swim season to pray about this. So the summer between my sophomore and junior year was spent in prayer and study. Every day I read the Bible Lesson, which consists of passages from the Bible and from Science and Health. I also read the Journal and Christian Science Sentinel magazines and listened to Radio Sentinel. I saw how other people, who often had much worse problems than mine, prayed and were healed. That was greatly encouraging.

(more…)

by Keith Wommack

Start right

» Rejoice in perfect God and perfect man. Cherish the majesty and might of God and the dignity and soundness of God’s spiritual idea, man. (See Science and Health, p. 259.)

Allay fear

» Erase the fear of the patient as well as your own anxiety. God is Love and knows how to control and care for all His spiritual creation. Man is exempt from disease and danger. Delight in these facts. (See Science and Health, p. 411.)

(more…)

James S. - The Christian Science Journal, Aug. ‘07

The Prayer That Heals Defining Christian Science treatment is a humbling task because its Principle—divine, eternal Love—is infinite, and therefore the outpouring of that Love has endless facets and limitless applications. Treatment is—must be—always fresh and new, like sunbeams pouring out of the sun. It can’t be stereotyped in any way. In fact, it’s not really Christian Science treatment if it even hints at ritual, thoughtless repetition, or formula.

(more…)

by Inge Schmidt

It had been a long Thursday. There had been a paper to write, an abrasive person to deal with, and seemingly countless other small things weighing me down. But in spite of a day’s worth of consecrated prayer, I crawled into bed that night pretty sure that I had made no progress that day. Close to tears, I closed my eyes to fall asleep.

As I lay in the silence, the thought came to me: “If Fed Ex can guarantee overnight delivery, surely God can do even better.” I had to laugh out loud. The more I study Christian Science, the more I’ve gotten used to feeling the presence of God. On a regular basis, thoughts come to me that are so clearly not my own thinking, that I just know they are Love’s angel messages. But this one was stranger than usual.

(more…)

by John Biggs

It’s amazing how time has ceased to be an issue at all for me…every day is just so full. I almost don’t know what to write! Everything has been such a blessing, and an opportunity for blessing…there’s not just one over-arching story.

One thing I’ve been very grateful for is that while many sights and activities have been so new and breathtaking, I’ve really felt at home for the most part. I suppose that some of the things I’ve been doing and seeing are pretty exotic compared to my experiences before this, but it also feels very natural.

(more…)

Julie F. - Christian Science Sentinel, June 4, 2007

I didn’t realize my way of approaching my life-schedule was messed up . . . until my life-schedule got messed up.

My whole plan was to go to India to study abroad during my junior year of college. I’d jotted it down (with a permanent marker) on my mental calendar—about four years before the travel date —and fully intended to follow through with it. I admired the Indian students who passed me in class or on the subway. And I was appropriately in love with the idea of trekking through the country, seeing the colorful Hindu prayer flags, and eating naan (traditional flatbread). 

(more…)

by Meg Dendler

I’ve grown rather accustomed to mentally tuning out the music my daughters play, often at competing volume levels, from their respective bedrooms. But one afternoon as we drove in the car a favorite of my older daughter’s came on and I really started listening to the words. What I heard from the gravely voice of rock band Nickelback’s lead singer shocked me, but in a good way for once. He sang:

(more…)