The Long Middle

Not in That Armor

Addison has to say her memory verse in front of the whole church on Sunday evening, and she has spent two weeks planning exactly what she will wear. The verse is not the problem. Being looked at is. Meanwhile, after Sunday school tells the story of David and the giant, two-year-old Andy falls asleep with his red ball in his fist — and dreams himself down into the valley of Elah, where the armor is far too big, the giant is far too loud, and the smallest person in Israel has exactly one word and one red ball. Andy cannot tell a soul what he dreamed. But when Addison stands trembling at the back of the church in the perfect outfit that is not helping her one bit, a toddler toddles up and hands her something small and round. A dream-episode about going out in your own clothes, in the name of the Lord. Scripture: 1 Samuel 17:47; Psalm 56:3 (KJV). pathstoglory.com mention

Born of the Water and Spirit

The welcome the Jones girls gave a lonely camper up in the pines has borne fruit: Abigale comes to church. She keeps coming back, too, drawn by something she cannot yet name — and one Sunday she asks the question that changes everything: how does a person come to Jesus? Allison and Addison, who are only children themselves, discover that they know more than they thought. With Allison’s careful order and Addison’s tender eye for what things mean, the two of them open the Book and show their friend the old apostolic way: repent, be baptized in the name of Jesus for the remission of sins, and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. With Sister Ward, Brother Thompson, Sister Beverly, and the whole Jones family looking on, Abigale is born of the water and of the Spirit. A joyful story about the fruit of one small light. Scripture: Acts 2:38 (KJV). pathstoglory.com mention

A Light in the Pines

School is out, and Dad, Allison, and Ana head up into the pines for Junior Camp — a week of cabins and campfires, of cold mornings and the smell of pancakes on the wind. Allison arrives with a binder and a plan, ready to run the tidiest cabin at camp. But when a quiet new girl named Abigale appears in the doorway of Cabin Seven — knowing no one, unsure of every song and every routine — Allison discovers that the most important thing at camp is not the thing she prepared for. Through Ana’s effortless, headlong friendliness, Sister Beverly’s quiet example, and a campfire message from Brother Alexander, the Jones girls learn that you are never too young to be a light — and that sometimes the brightest thing a child can do is simply make room for one more. Scripture: 1 Timothy 4:12; Matthew 5:16 (KJV). pathstoglory.com mention

Be Still

It is summer, and Ana — the fastest, loudest, most perpetually-in-motion of the Jones children — cannot imagine a day worth slowing down for. But one ordinary evening, worn out at last, she falls asleep and opens her eyes somewhere she has never been: a small wooden boat on a wide sea, with weather-beaten fishermen at the oars and a Man asleep in the stern. When a sudden storm turns the water to mountains and even grown men cry out in fear, Ana discovers there is one storm she cannot outrun. Then the Man stands, speaks three quiet words — “Peace, be still” — and the wind lies down at once. In the great calm that follows, the stillness reaches all the way inside the girl who is never still.  A dream-episode about the peace the Lord gives in the very middle of the storm. Scripture: Mark 4:39 (KJV). pathstoglory.com mention

The Best Seat in the Back

For the first time, the story turns to Dad. As the church prepares for a Homecoming Sunday—a visiting preacher, a packed service, and dinner on the grounds—it is Dad, the Pastor’s Assistant, who quietly makes every piece of it happen: the squared chairs, the filled water glass, the corner fan he stayed late to fix. When the day arrives and the thanks land everywhere except on him, it is Addison—the one who notices every small detail—who feels the injustice on her father’s behalf. But Dad has learned something about the back of the room, and about work done not unto men but unto the Lord. A gentle story about hidden faithfulness, the freedom of serving without applause, and the One who never misses a single chair. Scripture: John 3:30; Colossians 3:23 (KJV). pathstoglory.com mention