Pencil in His Hand: A Mother's Journal of Stories, Thoughts, and Poems.

  Free coffee break read. Welcome! Salvation Stories: Mattie Mattie's finger moved rythmically as she scrolled through her feed. It was her lunch break, so she didn't have much time. Despite her need to eat and rest, her slave driver of a phone glared insistantly at her: keep looking! Keep scrolling! Mattie caught a glimpse of a Christian post as she scrolled on: something about Jesus being the only way. Her mind fired up for a moment. Could the claim be true? Was Jesus the only way to Heaven? A little further on, she paused at a video: an advertisement for a well known Bible app. Mattie pushed her phone away and finished her lukewarm coffee. She allowed her mind free reign whilst she did so. Her phone showed she had ten minutes left. Mattie grabbed the device. Her thumbs moved with lightning speed: click, click, click. And then, Mattie tapped the download button next to the Bible app that Toby used. She opened it and read the verse of the day: John 14:6 ESV [6] Jesus said to h...

  Salvation Stories: Luna Luna walked right past the bottle store. It was Friday, and normally, she would have gone in and bought at least a six pack, in anticipation of the party she would inevitably find herself at. Yet this time, her feet carried her further and further away from its beckoning door. She placed a protective hand over her belly. This little one should at least have a chance. At nineteen, she didn't know much about pregnancy, but the clinic nurse had given her some pamphlets. Alcohol was a no-no, according to one of them.  Now, instead of going to a party or a pub, Luna was headed for the church. Her friend Nolan would be there. It wasn't her first time either. Something kept drawing her back: a raw hunger in her soul, or was it a raging thirst? Luna pulled her jacket closer around herself as an autumn wind chilled her and played with her long ponytail. She could see the church up ahead and its warmth beckoned. But unlike the bottle store, it lured with love....