RAMADAN: AN OPEN DOOR AND A SWEET REMINDER
byRamadan started last Friday evening, February 28 and ends in 4 weeks on the evening of March 29. It is the month of…
HEALING IN THE MIDST OF TRAGEDY
byWednesday is the 23nd anniversary of 9/11/2001. I was 23 when I was at ground zero on that day. I must say there…
GRACE AND FREEDOM DURING RAMADAN
byPlease pray for Muslims to meet Jesus during Ramadan. Ramadan started 3 weeks ago on February 28 and it ends this Saturday evening…
A YEAR COMPLETE
byAnother year completed! Another 365 days filled with the all-embracing moments of what truly makes a year complete. From the fresh scent of…
FINDING OUR MISSION
bySomething happened … we went from a very comfortable-typical American-Christian-homeschool (Classical Conversations)-boating-dirt biking-mountain biking-camping type family to something different. We went from living…
THE HOSPITABLE ENTHUSIAST
byI met Matt shortly after I moved to Ventura, California. A friend of mine was staying in his spare bedroom for a month…
WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT RUN
byAfter 16 years pastoring a church in England, Belinda and I never imagined we would wake-up one day in Zimbabwe, Southern Africa, a…
GOD PREPARES US
byFor we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians…
THE SECRET OF WAITING WELL
byEverybody talks about waiting for this and waiting for that, and although waiting can be painful, and quite honestly never ending, I have…
WISDOM OVER FEAR
byOne day soon afterward Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night. Luke 6:12 I always…
THROUGH THE EYES OF PURPOSE
byI was born in Nigeria. I first began to grasp the understanding of Christianity through the eyes of PURPOSE. Your purpose as a…
A BOY, A DAD AND A BOAT
byWe all sail on the seas of life. Similar to that of the vast ocean, which can be serene, turbulent, unpredictable, or an…
HERE’S HOPING…
byWe have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure… Hebrews 6:19 Let me tell you about the hope of…
WORSHIP IN THE WRECKAGE
byMy hand was strumming with vigorous intensity, my voice resounding with a passionate plea to experience God, that familiar feeling came over me…
WHAT’S ON YOUR PLAYLIST?
byI once heard that “Friends know the songs in our hearts and will sing them back to us when we’ve forgotten the words.”…
HE’S GOT THE WHOLE WORLD IN HIS HANDS
byHe’s got the whole world in his hands, he’s got the whole world in his hands! If you grew up in church, you…
CHOOSE JOY
byLife has been a lot of things in recent months, but consistently, it’s been tough. The past 18 months have been a long…
REMEMBER… HE HAS RISEN!
byThis past week leading up to Easter, I’ve tried to read the Easter story every day and look for something new that I’ve…
WORSHIP THE KING
byOn coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened…
DIVINE OPPORTUNITY
byToday, I pulled up to a familiar scene; on the side of the road was a woman holding a sign with her gaze…
THE BEAUTY AND PAIN OF KINSHIP
byFor the beginning of this Fruitful Story, you may want to first read Teresa Ku-Borden’s LIVING IN GETHSEMANE This second Fruitful story by Teresa is excerpted…
MY HIDDEN YEAR
byI’m a millennial. I’m currently writing this on my MacBook Air, drinking a great cup of coffee, sitting on a daybed in the…
WHEN PERSECUTION GETS PERSONAL
byWe’ve lived under some “real” persecution. When I think of some of the situations my husband and I have lived through over the…
WAYS TO CELEBRATE MOTHERS
byNext Sunday is a day in the USA designated to celebrate the people who carry us into the world: our mothers. My mother is…
WITH HEARTS THAT LEAN TOWARD AFRICA
byCan you believe we’re here and doing this? During the past five years, my husband David and I have looked at each other often…
NOURISHED BY TRUTH
byEvery time we meet on this middle eastern university campus, we stop at the kiosk for three brimming paper cups of sweet mint…
COME TO THE TABLE
byTables… We have them in our homes, schools, work places. We fight to get a good space at one in a cafe and we…
THE EXERCISE OF EMPATHY
by“Move along, sister!” the police officer was firmly instructing me. I was standing in front of a scene I’d only ever heard about…
5 Ways to Recognize Resurrection
byThis year, Easter is celebrated today by Western Christians and on next Sunday by Orthodox Christians around the world. All around the world, the words “He…
MOMENT OF JOY
byIt was in a small auditorium filled with second year college students that I met the little boy named Charlie who would change…
WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS NOW?
byWhat are your plans now? This question greets me nearly every day. It’s not a bad question at all. In fact, it is…
LIKE A CHILD
byI’ve been in Kenya a week. To be exact, 7 days and six hours. I’ve barely even scratched the surface of all that…
WHERE IS GOD THROUGH THE FIRE?
byWe were startled awake in the middle of the night by the persistent buzz of an iPhone going off near our heads. My parents…
ONE THING FOR CHRISTMAS
byIf you knew that there was just “one thing” you could do that would impact everything else in your life and bring about…
O HOLY NIGHT: BRINGING BACK THE WONDER
byWith a twinkle in his eye, my precious little newborn boy lets out the most delightful coo, his gaze fixed upon me. I…
EMMANUEL: THE GOD OF OUR MESS
byLast year at Christmas time, I spent two weeks at my in-laws’ dairy farm in Wisconsin. As a California girl, people kept asking me…
WHEN LITTLE STEPS ARE GREATER THAN LEAPS
byIt was just over a year ago now that my husband and I cut our long-term overseas mission plans short to move back…
MY NAME IS ESTHER
byI’m learning the English language from The Internet, so I will do my best to tell you my story. We also learn English…
IT’S NOT CERTAIN YET
byI’ve always liked to know what to expect. To know what’s coming next. I think I was born that way. Following a schedule…
WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOUR WORLD FALLS APART?
byIn 1980, Gerard Long had a dramatic encounter with God. Gerard and Jeannie married in 1981 and both felt called to serve in…
RECEIVE WISDOM FROM GOD
byAs I grew up, I had no idea that wisdom was being developed in me. I had listened to my mom speak truth…
BUILD IT AND THEY WILL COME
byMuslims… What pictures come to mind when you hear that word? Angry looking men with long beards Women whose faces cannot be seen…
OVERWHELMED BY THE UNGRATEFUL
byIt seems like such a small thing, yet it can cause great discouragement. I know I’m not the first to experience it, but…
5 WAYS TO ANCHOR YOUR JOY
byHere is the World. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don’t be afraid. Frederick Buechner, Beyond Words: Daily Readings on the ABC’s of Faith…
YOU WERE ALWAYS MY FIRST LOVE
byWhen I was young, my father would place me on his shoulders and encourage me to “reach for the trees!” His unconditional love…
MY MOTHER’S DREAMS
byMy mother breathes adventure. Not the thrill-seeking kind of adventures you would find in someone like Bear Grylls as he undertakes the cliffs of…
HIDDEN TREASURE IN THE DESERT
byEvery heart is different, and the path that leads each heart to the gospel is different. Only God knows the path that will…
WHEN TIME STANDS STILL
byAs a child, I believed I had the superpower to slow time. There were moments throughout my day when I perceived the world…
PURCHASED OUT OF SLAVERY
byOne day I woke up and everything had changed. I used to be this tough guy. I thought I could handle anything and…
NOT BORN BY MISTAKE
byAbout Six billion people lived before the 1990’s when I was born in Nigeria. This gets me thinking every time I think of…
FAR FROM FORGOTTEN
byThere I was on my knees, tears streaming down my face as I poured out my heart to God for what seemed like…
THE ART OF BEING BUSY
byBusy has become the new fine. Casually ask someone how they’re doing today, and on autopilot, they might say they’re fine—but chances are…
A THANKFUL HEART
byThe remains of the turkey had long since been put in the fridge. The last of the mashed potatoes had been scooped up….
CHOOSING JOY WHEN LIVING IN DISAPPOINTMENT
byThis morning I realised that it’s been 10 years to the day since I crammed as much stuff as I could into a…
DO INTROVERTS MAKE BETTER PRAY-ERS?
byFor most of my childhood, I was painfully shy. So shy, in fact, that my parents had to make me a star chart…
THE OPPOSITE OF LONELINESS
byIn the English language, there isn’t really a word for the opposite of loneliness. A quick Google search puts the word “popular” as…
THE CURE FOR A TEPID LIFE
byI know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you…
MY PILGRIMAGE
bySome would call the Camino torture. Some would euphemize it to a nice walk. Some, like me, would call it meditation—just really really…
MIND THE GAP
byIf you have ever visited London and traveled on the underground tube, there is a common phrase you will hear over the bustling…
HOW MOVING ACROSS THE WORLD GAVE ME A BIGGER HEART FOR MY OWN CITY
byI have always been a firm believer that you don’t need to move across the world to make a difference in this world….
SIMPLE OFFERINGS OF LOVE
byI’ve been a long time prayer intercessor for the needs of those I’ve encountered at my church and for those I’ve interacted with throughout my life. Recently…
REMEMBER THOSE IN PRISON (HEBREWS 13:3)
byFor over 40 years I have had the joy of serving as a Family Life Pastor in several churches. My responsibilities were to model…
FIND YOUR MISSION, CHANGE THE WORLD
by“It’s already Monday morning…hard to believe we have only three days left. Difficult to sort through our thoughts as it’s all pretty intense,…
IT’S IN THE DETAILS
byYesterday, I went to a friend’s house for a concert they were hosting in their backyard. About 50 of us had gathered together,…
WORSHIPPING IN OUR DARKEST NIGHT
byThe church I get the privilege of working at has a daily reading plan through the Bible. One week ago, we happened upon…
LIVING IN GETHSEMANE
byLast weekend, I snapped a photo of my 15-month-old son sitting on my husband’s shoulders, as we walked leisurely on the pier of…
AN EXCEPTIONAL LIFE
byIn the field of special education, students with disabilities are often referred to as children with exceptional needs. As I reflect on the…
It is for Freedom that We Have Been Set Free
byToday is the 4th of July, the day the people of the USA celebrate as Independence Day. It’s a day where people gather and eat…
MY SEARCH FOR WORTH
byHave you ever asked the question: How do I prove myself worthy? Welcome to humanity. You are part of the global network of…
GOD, THE MECHANIC
byMy engine light is on again. And a little screwdriver icon I’ve never seen before. The last time it came on, I let…
THE ACT OF SHOWING UP FOR EACH OTHER
byI like watching people “people watch”. I guess you could call me a people watcher of people watchers. People reuniting with full force…
RESILIENCE IS KNOWING HOW TO REJOICE, DESPITE THE HARDSHIPS OF LIFE
bySwinging open my creaky kitchen cabinet doors, I began loading up our mismatched plates. Above the noise of ceramic clanging together, I turned…
GOD GIVES US FRIENDS WHO CATCH US
byYesterday I laughed and laughed and my stomach hurts today. I am so thankful for the people God has put in my life…
God’s Grace allows us to Speak Hope and Truth into the Dark Places
byA year ago I bought a ’93 Chevy conversion van off Craigslist. The deal went down in a somewhat sketchy, yet true-to-form, parking…
Surviving Uncertainty: Break Through Doubt and Find Courage
byI have been in a season of perpetual transition for the past two years in the context of family and friends who are…
Thoughts on Loving Your Friends When Life is Messy
byI find myself standing in the awkward space that exists after the conclusion of my formal scholastic education. I am facing the ambiguity about…
5 Ways to Remember God’s Love
byIt’s pretty hectic out there in the world these days. Maybe you feel like the frenzy that characterizes these days we live in…
Your Dollar Can Make a Global Impact
byWelcome to Fruitful–we love practical ideas about how to live our gifts with intentionality. No, O people, the LORD has shown you…
We Have an Abundant Well of Love to Draw From (Valentine’s Day)
byWelcome to Fruitful–we love practical ideas about how to live our gifts with intentionality. I have the privilege of watching three young…
Built for Community: 5 Ways to Know Your Town
byI love to travel. I love to visit cities unknown to me and walk around—looking up at the architecture and around at the…
Shop With a Purpose: 10 Gifts That Give Generously
byShop with a purpose this season. We put together a list of our favorite companies that give a portion of their profits to…
LOOKING THROUGH THE EYES OF THE HOMELESS
byThere’s a place in downtown Los Angeles that poses as a park to the everyday passer-by. In the “winter” time (this is southern…
THE PASTOR IN ME: HOW I CAME TO DISCOVER THE TRUTH AND FACE MY FEAR
by“You’re going to be a pastor,” God tells me in the summer of 2011 while working at a fishing lodge in the Haida…
Fruitful Reading List
byIt’s time to curl up with a hot cup of joe and a good book. Fruitful hand-picked a list that will inspire, educate and…
Opening my heart to show mercy
byGrowing up I had the naïve belief that Christ called his followers to only associate with those who also believed He was their…
Get Started (Or Get Started Quitting)
bySometimes, to learn what you’re good at, you have to try new things, fail a lot, surprise yourself, succeed… all while leaning into…
Learning to Embrace Your Gift
byThree years ago I barely had a clue about my spiritual gift. Like any normal twenty-one year old, I was trying stay afloat…
Fruitful Prayer: Hunger for More
byDear Father God, Please help me to develop a thirst for you, a hunger for your Manna, a desire to spend time with…
FRUITFUL WALLPAPER: Citrus Sunnies
byCheck out this weeks Free Downloadable Desktops for your computer, phones or tablets. Hand-painted images created so that your tech can become a…
GOOD FRUIT: Root for Each Other
byWhether your love language is words of affirmation, acts of service or quality time, we can all benefit from words of encouragement. To…
Fruitful Prayer: Use My Life For Your Good
byDear Father God, I pray that You will give me the insight as to how to use the tools You have given me–whether…
FRUITFUL WALLPAPER: Summer Fun Fruit
byCheck out this weeks Free Downloadable Desktops for your computer, phones or tablets. Hand-painted images created so that your tech can become a…
Cheers! to the Little Things
byMy husband and I received these fancy crystal champagne glasses as a wedding present. When we opened them we made a little pact…
Gifted to Administrate
byThe gift of administration means that you are a goal-oriented person who likes to take charge of situations. Administrators are usually prone to one…
Gifted to Serve
byWhen you are gifted to serve it simply means that you’re driven and motivated by the idea of helping others; it can even…
Gifted with Prophecy
byThe gift of prophecy is used to encourage, build up, and strengthen the church body. It is rarely about things fifteen years in…
FRUITFUL WALLPAPER: All Who Are Thirsty
byCheck out this weeks Free Downloadable Desktops for your computer, phones or tablets. Hand-painted images created so that your tech can become a…
Gifted to Evangelize
byThis gift can easily be misconstrued as Christians trying to push their beliefs on others; Even the word evangelism can turn people away…
Gifted to Give
byWhen the Gift of Giving is your strength, you tend to see wealth as a tool that can be used towards a greater…
Welcome to Fruitful
bye all wonder from time to time what it is we have to offer this world that is uniquely ours. We want to…