Welcome To THE NUGGET The Light Shines in the Darkness By: Alice Burnett ---------------------------- September 4, 2024 Stalactites hung from the ceiling in weird formations, and stalagmites rose in uneven clusters from the cave floor. The excited children on our field trip crowded around the guide. “I'm going to turn the lights off now,” he announced. All of a sudden, the whole cave was plunged into darkness, a blackn ...Continue Reading

Welcome To THE NUGGET Prayer Is the Key By: Paul Smyth --------------------------------- September 2, 2025 The older I get, I’ve come to learn that prayer is the key to dealing with everything that life throws at me, including the human biggies of stress, worry, anxiety, and fear. I’ve also learned that even though my prayers do not always receive immediate attention, purging my heart to God also provides relief to my ...Continue Reading

Welcome To THE NUGGET Through Thick and Thin By: Lyn Chaffart --------------------------------- August 30, 2025 "But Absalom sent spies throughout the tribes of Israel, saying, '“'As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then you shall say, ‘Absalom is king in Hebron!’” (2 Samuel 15:10 NASB) It was a sad time in the life of David. His son, his own flesh and blood, has usurp ...Continue Reading

Welcome To THE NUGGET Imitators of God By: Kari Vo --------------------------------- August 28, 2025 "Now ... you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do .... They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God .... But that is not the way you learned Christ!— [You] were taught to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to ...Continue Reading

Welcome To THE NUGGET Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled By: Paul Smyth --------------------------------- August 26, 2025 This morning, I woke up at 5 AM, not because I had to, but because my heart was troubled and my brain was overprocessing a myriad of thoughts, concerns, and worries for tomorrow. Ever been there? I would venture to say yes. So, rising up from my bed, I went straight to my ...Continue Reading

Welcome To THE NUGGET Of Umbrellas and Deer Flies By: Lyn Chaffart --------------------------------- August 23, 2025 The Bible teaches us to put our focus on Jesus and to depend upon Him alone. This is the gist of Jesus' vineyard discourse (See John 15). Take this verse, for example: "I am the vine, you are the branches; the one who remains in Me, and I in him bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing ...Continue Reading

Welcome To THE ILLUSTRATOR Birthdays August 22, 2025 ...give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. ~ 1 Thess. 5:18 NIV ~ My birthday was a few days ago. It is funny. When I was a child, I longed for my birthdays to come. I would receive gifts, for one thing; but more importantly, I would be "catching up" to my older ...Continue Reading

Welcome To THE NUGGET The Grapes By: Lynne Phipps --------------------------------- August 21, 2025 "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us." (2 Corinthians 4: 7 NIV) The last of the green grapes had been in the refrigerator for at least two weeks. I decided it was time to eat them up or throw them out, someth ...Continue Reading

Welcome To THE ILLUSTRATOR Wrong Place at the Wrong Time August 20, 2025 Peter denied it. 'I don’t know what you’re talking about,' he said, and he went out into the entryway. Just then, a rooster crowed. ~ Mark 14:68 NLT ~ "Peter denied it. 'I don’t know what you’re talking about,' he said, and he went out into the entryway. Just then, a rooster crowed." (Mark 14:68 NLT) ...Continue Reading

Welcome To THE NUGGET The Overthinker By: Paul Smyth --------------------------------- August 19, 2025 No ifs, ands, or buts—I’m an overthinker. For fun, I looked up the definition of an overthinker. The Merriam Webster dictionary app on my phone says this. “To think too much about (something)—to put too much time into thinking about or analyzing (something) in a way that is more harmful ...Continue Reading