Hallie, Evelyn and William spent the first part of the morning in their Christian school chapel. They were learning "Amazing Grace" to sing next week for Grandparents' Day.

An hour later they were with the One whose grace they had been singing about.

As the nation knows now, they were three of the six victims in a mass shooting tragedy at Covenant School in Nashville.

By Ron Hutchcraft

A lot of us have it just about memorized - that Christmas classic, "A Charlie Brown Christmas." Maybe you even hear that familiar piano theme in your mind now. Charlie's efforts to find the meaning of Christmas are, of course, repeatedly frustrated by Lucy's big mouth and Snoopy's garishly decorated doghouse. But then there's Linus on stage, in the spotlight, reciting the story of the first Christmas from the Bible.

I've never been in Uvalde, Texas. But today I feel like a part of my heart is there. I'm pretty sure I'm not alone.

How do you get your heart around a massacre of nine- and ten-year-old kids, locked in a classroom? Done by a teenager with a rifle. It's unimaginable, but horrifically real. It's unthinkable, but we can't ignore it.

Written by Ron Hutchcraft

Lord, you know we are in a battle against a brutal but invisible enemy.

Our heroes are those who are taking the risks on our behalf to save the wounded and protect the rest of us from becoming casualties.

By Sara Hutchcraft

It's a long, complicated road, isn't it? This thing we call life. Yet we trip along, thinking we know where we're going, with lofty plans and daring dreams.

They say hindsight is 20/20 - sometimes it can serve as a guidebook for how to go forward. These are the stones of remembrance that we set along the way as we go - to remind us of what to hold onto when the waves threaten to take us under.

It's a Christmas like no other. In a year like no other.

One clue it was different is the Santa Claus at a very popular store in our area. It was humorous to see their commercial, as they tried to say, "Come on - it'll be fun - and safe!"

I've never been in a major earthquake. Well, except for this pandemic. Seems like it's shaken just about everyone and everything.

One thing earthquakes do - they reveal the buildings that weren't built strong enough to stand the shock. Just like floods reveal the weaknesses in a levee or a dam. Or a flood wall that wasn't built high enough.

Anger, injustice, violence, death, disease, fear, unemployment - so much hurt. Our hearts ache for the brokenness and bleeding of a nation and world - and those we love. But we are not powerless!

By Doug Hutchcraft

On the news or social media, you can't miss it: people young and old, regardless of political affiliation or financial situation, in disbelief about an awful tragedy.

You won't find any shortage of commentary about it. I can't help but process this through my own experience - listening to people with hearts that have been broken. My desire is to try to respond with God's perspective. My dad Ron puts it powerfully: "Since 9/11 I have prayed during shocking moments in the news: 'Lord, help me see and feel what You see and feel here.'"

Our then-high school grandson kept coming up with these "hmmm" kind of gems. Like this:

"Life's different from school. In school, you have the lessons, then the test. In life, you have the test - then the lessons."

Like I said - "hmmmm."