Q&A - Elise Ballard

A CONVERSATION WITH THE EPIPHANY EXPERT

News From Around Our Wonderful World

West Warwick, Rhode Island On a Saturday night in early February 2020, Lindsey Sheely ordered a pizza delivery for her family.

Mom's Last Gift

“Your mother’s breast cancer has returned, and it’s metastasized to her bones,” said my mother’s doctor. “It’s…everywhere. I’m so sorry, Roberta.”

Martin's Miracle

On the mountainside of Mount Sainte-Odile in Alsace, France, I stopped to catch my breath. My three kids and I had planned to meet here—but they were nowhere in sight. I guess they’d changed their minds and decided to stay back at the abbey. Oh well, I thought. Perhaps expecting teens to be excited about a religious relic was a little ambitious.

Jim and the Mystery Bullet

My father-in-law, Jim Matis, was a natural storyteller. He loved regaling his friends with tales, drawing them in with quick jokes and easy conversation.

An Unlikely Guardian

I headed out for my daily walk one August morning, but the back road behind my house was muddy. Too muddy for me. At 66, I couldn’t risk slipping. I’ll take the main road today, I thought. That should be safer.

Don't Worry, Be Happy

Just a quick Google search and there it was—an eBay listing for a Big Mouth Billy Bass, available to the highest bidder. I matched the asking price and crossed my fingers. It looked exactly like the one my ex-husband had brought home all those years ago, back in 1999.

Six Types of Heaven Sent Visions

Have you experienced something you couldn’t explain? An image that warned you of impending danger? A voice that brought you comfort when you needed it most? You may have experienced a prophetic vision. According to preacher and writer Dr. James W. Goll, there are 12 types of prophetic visions in the Bible. As Dr. Goll says, “Prophetic visions are not just for prophets.” They’re signs and messages from God we still experience today. Here are six of types of them:

A Shared Glimpse

JEFF OLSEN: The accident happened while we were driving back to our home in Bountiful, Utah, from a visit to relatives in the southern part of the state. My wife, Tamara, was asleep beside me. Our seven-year-old son, Spencer, was in the back seat, playing with his toys. Our toddler, Griffin, slept in his car seat. The road stretched out ahead, and my eyes grew heavy. It felt as if I’d blinked for just a second.

A Letter to My Granddaughter, on Her Graduation Day

My Dear Granddaughter, Congratulations on your high school graduation. I wanted to get you something special for the occasion. I came across the enclosed hand-painted feather in a gift shop on a recent trip to Arizona. It felt like the right gift because it also comes with a story. One I haven’t told you before. It’s about your biological mother—my daughter, Missy.

The Detour

The phone rang. It was my son, Ryan, calling from West Virginia University, where he was finishing out his final year.

The Calling

I sat in my car, overlooking a shimmering intercoastal waterway, the night sky studded with stars. Everything around me had a vibrant, otherworldly glow. This is West Palm Beach, I realized. My family and I used to live here. But we’d moved away about a year ago….

The Voice on the Mountain

I was about halfway up a cliff face on Mount Thompson, with California’s Sierra Nevada spread out behind me. But I didn’t have time to enjoy the panoramic view.

The Green House

I first noticed the house in the summer of 1958. It was on East Sixteenth Street in the suburb of San Diego where I lived. A new through street had been completed that spring, and I now passed by the house occasionally on my way home.

Q&A Dr. Joshua Black

A CONVERSATION WITH THE GRIEF DREAM EXPERT

Peak Moments

I have a vivid childhood memory that stands out from the rest. A Wednesday afternoon in the Southern California town where I grew up. I was riding my bike home from a piano lesson.

News From Around Our Wonderful World

San Marcos, Texas In February 2019, college student Gabby Tropea’s cat, Boko, found a way to thank her for taking him in as a stray.

Mom's Bible

I was leaving work when my phone rang.

Divine Diagnosis

“Colt, I think I’m going to die.” My wife, Krystyna, struggled to get the words out. I had to lean in to hear her. Her voice was weak. She looked small in the hospital bed, her skin pale and shining with sweat.

A Change of Plans

I lay awake in bed, bleary-eyed from a night of drinking, exhausted yet unable to sleep. I hated living like this but felt powerless to stop.

What Makes a Modern Mystic?

I recently attended our church’s annual Quiet Day, during which we’d spend most of a Saturday sitting in silence, focusing on prayers and tuning out the noise of modern-day life to tune into God.

The Postman's Hymn

Finish this shift, get to the next job, study for midterms, practice the sheet music for church, tuck Matt into bed….

The Memento

I stepped back from the wall to admire my new shadow box. I’d just had it framed.

Swept Away

Thursday, April 18, 2019. It was Senior Skip Day at Christ’s Church Academy in Jacksonville, Florida. A big deal for 17-year-old friends Heather Brown and Tyler Smith. They had been looking forward to this high school milestone all year. Along with six other seniors, they decided to spend the day at popular Vilano Beach, near St. Augustine. Spurred on by brilliant sunshine and temperatures in the eighties, the teens had planned a full day of swimming, sunbathing and beach volleyball. There was a High Hazard flag—a red flag warning beachgoers of “high surf and/or strong currents”— hoisted on the beach’s parking lot flagpole as the teens arrived, but they rushed past it.

Rescue Dog

What on earth is Jimmy doing?

News From Around Our Wonderful World

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Eight-year old Brayden Auten needed a new liver—fast.

Mystery at Midnight

Bang! bang! bang! I shot up in bed that mid-December morning in 1992.

Lucid Blessings

Donna Teti sat next to her mother, Jean, at a wedding reception table. A stream of guests filed past, greeting them—the mother and grandmother of the bride.

History's Mysteries

Nazareth, 2006. An archaeological team made an exciting discovery in a first-century house being surveyed underneath the Sisters of Nazareth convent: Limestone vessels unearthed there indicated that the structure had likely once housed a Jewish family.… Could this in fact be Jesus’ childhood home?

Fruit of the Spirit

In just over two hours, I was expecting 100 people at my house for my father-in-law Larry’s seventieth birthday. I was right on schedule, putting the finishing touches on my corn casserole, when I froze. Where was the can of corn? I ran to my pantry, thinking I might have left it there. No luck.