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Long ago there was a beautiful Cherokee maiden named White Flower. Three braves were in love with her, Big Elk, Thunder Sky and Winter Wolf. White Flower loved all three of them equally and she could not make up her mind. She knew each of them loved her and that they were all handsome, strong and honorable and any one of them would make a good husband. She decided to test the men to find out who loved her the most and she would marry the man who won the three challenges....
I am forsaken by friends I am a reproach of men I am despised by the people They shoot out the lip at Me They shake their heads at Me They encircled Me like angry bulls They threaten Me like a roaring lion I am poured out like water All My bones are out of joint My heart is like wax It is melted in the midst of My bowels My strength is dried up like a potsherd My tongue is sticking to My jaws I have been brought into the dust of death Dogs have compassed Me about The assembly...
“Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones” (Proverbs 16:24). These words of wisdom from Proverbs are exactly what we need in our Indigenous communities. Many of us have been wounded from the harsh words and actions of others in society, and also from those within our immediate families, tribes or clans. When we experience harsh words from others, it hurts and often leads to other sins such as hatred or revenge. Following these natural ins...
There is an old legend about a gentle young woman named Autumn Sunset who loved all the creatures in the forest. She could talk to the birds and the deer and the rabbits and no animal was afraid of her because they knew she was their friend. Every day Autumn Sunset would walk in the forest and the animals would gather around her and follow her. When she would lay down in the soft grass to rest, the animals would lay down in a circle around her. Sometimes the warriors in the...
I am a member of the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation (Algonquin), a husband, a graduate student, and most important, a brother in Christ. And I am a supporter of Idle No More. I want to see Canadian Christians have a better conversation on one of the most pressing issues of our time. We need to keep the conversation going. This is a moral and relational issue; Jesus Christ is in this issue if you look hard enough—beyond what you hear in the mainstream media. At the h...
As soon as the sun shines warm once more I put on my boots and run out the door! Dad yells “Hold on!” I stop and wait. Old Shep barks. Dad opens the gate. The earth is refreshed and springing ahead. God’s waking up everything, out of its bed. After the rain on a path through the forest, Hear the birds singing! A springtime chorus! The geese are returning, soaring high. I hear lambs, in their pen nearby. Spider web’s lace is holding rain drops That sparkle and glisten through...
This past month some friends and I took on the project of renovating my bedroom bathroom. I knew what I wanted and when we went to the home hardware store, I picked out a new shower, toilet and bathroom sink expecting to walk out of there thinking the job would be done within a few hours. Little did I know that along with these type of renovations, are plumbing and electrical work that involves many pieces, fittings and of course trip after trip to the store to get things righ...
Since the surgery on my spine, walking and balancing on uneven surfaces present more challenges for me than usual. This is important information for you to fully comprehend my recent terror in the shower. I adjusted the temperature before grabbing the tub handle. Easing my legs over the unusually high bathtub, I adjusted my stance to steady myself in the contours of the tub while maintaining the right spot in the water. I turned and spied a large black spider folding itself...
This article by KB Schaller is first in a series that will focus on the achievements of Native American Women. When most Americans think of visiting a physician for an ailment, most likely a Native American woman does not come to mind—and even less likely in prior centuries. But Susan LaFleche-Picotte opened the door to the breaking of that mindset in 1889 when she became the first Native American woman in the United States to earn a medical degree. Susan was born in 1865 o...
You never know what a letter can do or mean until you have been where I’ve been and seen what I have seen. As I am confined in a world which lives behind these walls, in which no one can see except for the guards. Often when I sleep, I am awakened, alarmed with fear that those I love have come to harm. “Just Dreams,” I have to admit to myself as I come back to my senses and look out the barred window of my cell; at the chain-link fences. I must awaken and go on with my day i...
Have you ever wondered how your brain works? How do brains make sense of the vibrations passing through the ears? How can it translate so many consonants and vowels, stops and starts, and decipher the meaning of in-coming communication? How do brains retrieve what the eyes see? (And how in the world do eyes see?) The brain assigns meaning to shapes, colors, textures, and designs. It perceives nuances in facial expressions and reads another’s eyes to interpret meaning that w...
It has been a little over a year and a half since God made it possible for me to own my first home. I have had lots of learning experiences during this time. In the last few weeks, I noticed that my dryer was not doing its job very well. It was taking forever to dry my clothes and it always felt very hot after it had been on for just a short while. I always cleaned out the lint filter just inside the door but just couldn’t figure out what was keeping my dryer from running effe...
“Surely He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered Him stricken by God, smitten by Him, and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed. We all like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53: 4-6, NIV). In order for us to be healed from any...
I spend too much time alone and my world and my life have become small. I read a self-help book that said if I was in a rut and I wasn’t happy with my life, to do three new things in one week and it would change my life. The book promised I’d meet new people, make new friends and have an adventure. I knew I needed to make the effort or I was going to turn into a hermit so I decided the first thing I’d do would be to attend a new church, share in a different kind of servi...
I am a Cherokee inmate in Ohio. My father and grandparents (now deceased) were members of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation from The Qualla Boundary in North Carolina. I read a borrowed copy of Indian Life from my fellow inmate, a Nakota Sioux from the Yankton Reservation, and I am glad I read it! I would like you to know that I read the section entitled “Have You Been Abandoned?” I asked Unelanvhi into my life, and proclaimed the included prayer aloud, for all of my fellow inmates to witness! I would like to tell you...
What was Christmas like for you when you were a kid?” Don asked. “We didn’t celebrate Christmas. We didn’t believe in God,” I answered. “Lots of people celebrate Christmas who don’t believe in God,” Don said. “You mean you didn’t do anything at all about Christmas?” “No—oh, I remember once a girlfriend of one of my uncles gave me a present. It was a little bottle of hand lotion. I’d never had anything like that before. It seemed like such a grown-up gift, and I was so...
I am at my nephew’s funeral, but in all this world there is no real trace of him left. A candle burns amongst a circle of vibrant flowers, but he will not find any warmth from it and the flowers will wither in days. Funerals are for the living to say goodbye to the dead, but as I scan the room I see only the dying, heads bowed as tears fall. You cannot underestimate how many smiles my nephew stole. Like the surviving victims of a crime they will recover and return to some s...
Ute, Choctaw, Onondaga, Lumbee, Shinnecock, Mohawk, Navajo, Hopi, Cree, Blackfoot, Seminole, Hoh, Ojibwe, Pawnee, Chinook, Commanche, Lakota, Haida, Mik’maq, Tlingit, Apache…and many more. Each one a First Nation. Each one with its unique cultural heritage. Each one speaking its own language. Lose the culture and its language and the nation loses its identity. Buffalo Jim, a Seminole elder, said, “The Creator told us … things will happen just before the end of the world....
“Healing rain is falling down. I’m not afraid. I’m not afraid” are some of the lyrics to a song sung by Michael W. Smith. When we listen to these types of songs we are encouraged and uplifted. We feel closer to God. We feel like we can go on. This made me think about the question: What makes us hunger for healing? What makes us hunger for the deep things of God that will take away the deep hurt in our lives? Unfortunately, it’s not until the rug is pulled out from under us...
Beautiful Christmas cards portray Mary and Joseph keeping watch over their tiny baby in the manger. Can you imagine how Mary felt as she held her soft, squirming infant in her arms, shielding Him from the cold night air? She must have marveled at His tiny fingers and toes and stroked His soft dark hair as He nursed. Carolers and congregations sing melodic songs like Joy to the World and talented choirs hail the majestic Hallelujah Chorus, but who is this baby who inspires...
As we celebrate this wondrous time of year, it’s very important to contemplate the fact that God became a human being (John 1:14). This was God’s will, and Jesus Christ gave Himself completely to His Father’s will, always (John 4:34). Yes, the Savior of the world took upon Himself the likeness of human flesh, but do we have an inkling of an idea what this stoop really cost Him? I dare say, it will take all of eternity to wrap our minds around the fact that He left the splen...
I have a nativity set I put out on my table every Christmas. The three wise men are pretty worn. One is missing a nose and one had his head broken off and glued back on but it is crooked and permanently bowed but that’s OK. The camel’s legs were broken off and replaced with short pencils that were painted brown. The donkey is missing an ear. Joseph is missing a hand but Mary and Baby Jesus are still in good condition. I guess it isn’t very pretty anymore but it means somet...
Make me like a tree by the river whose leaves of green will ever grow make me like a tree by the river who finds its strength in the river’s flow Make me like a tree by the river who fears no loneliness or shame make me like a tree by the river who calls itself by the river’s name Make me like a tree by the river who worries not about its need make me like a tree by the river whose roots reach down to the river’s deep Make me like a tree by the river that stands strong in dr...
During the month of September I spent a week in McAllen, Texas. I had the joy of sharing the Good News of Jesus with a few people and also spent some time handing out invites for special outreach activities. As I went about visiting, sometimes door to door, I met a lot of very friendly people. I noticed that many of the doors had a sign hanging, with one word on it. Sometimes the same word was displayed on a mat in front of the door. Can you guess what it was? Yes, the word...
APPRECIATED EDITORIAL Greetings! I just want to say that I appreciate your magazine, and that I especially appreciated the editorial you put in the last issue about trusting God. Well said. George Mueller has been my greatest spiritual model since childhood. What a man of faith. I have also gone through many times (I am no longer young) when my faith was on trial, and I really appreciate that the usual spiritual accolades just aren’t enough at those times. It is easy to say ...
