June/July 2024

Guideposts

Guideposts is a monthly inspirational, interfaith, non profit magazine written by people from all walks of life. Its articles help readers achieve their maximum personal and spiritual potential.

Guideposts2 min read
One Friend At A Time
Greetings, friends! I start this way because of the featured Up Side quote (page 6) from U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, who warns that the nation’s health is threatened by an epidemic of loneliness. His recent report outlines the dire consequence
Guideposts1 min read
Guideposts
President & CEO John Temple Editor-in-Chief & Vice President Edward Grinnan Vice President, Content Ansley Roan Lead Editor Amy Wong Creative Director Kayo Der Sarkissian Editorial Team Morgan Beard, Meg Belviso, Sabra Ciancanelli, Sabrina Diaz, Kimb
Guideposts1 min read
“The Up Side ®
SEND AN UPLIFTING QUOTE from a newsmaker or yourself to upside@guideposts.org ■
Guideposts1 min read
Spirit Lifting
That sunny afternoon, I felt the urge to go to the park and set up my easel to do some painting. But as an amateur with no training, I was worried. What if people in the park saw my artwork, then snickered or made ugly comments? Yet off I went, seeki
Guideposts3 min read
Someone Cares
I was walking through the mall one day when a woman passing by said, “I like your shoes.” I glanced down at my well-worn tennis shoes and wondered what was special enough about them to warrant a compliment. My shoes seemed pretty ordinary to me. Stil
Guideposts7 min read
Harold and Me
I scanned the line of older gentlemen boarding the charter bus, looking for the veteran I’d be accompanying on a two-day tour of the war memorials in Washington, D.C. That Saturday morning in September 2019 was my first time volunteering for Honor Fl
Guideposts9 min read
The Race Before Her
See me poised in the starting blocks of the 400-meter hurdles, and you might think I have nerves of steel. After all, I’m the women’s world-record holder in the event and the 2021 Olympic gold medalist. But I’m far from unflappable. In fact, for most
Guideposts6 min read
‘‘I Love You, Dad!’’
Moberly, Missouri The hardest thing about being a pastor’s kid was moving all the time—seven times in 10 years. I hated it. I even threatened to run away when I was 13. “Think of it as an adventure,” Dad said. “The Good Lord always provides.” Those w
Guideposts5 min read
‘‘I Heard You Praying”
I was the chaplain on duty that Friday night. I leaned over the nurse’s station on the surgical intensive care unit to get briefed on the patient awaiting me in Room 1. “The paramedics brought her in earlier today with a gunshot wound to the head,” t
Guideposts7 min read
God’s Pillow
On the worst—and best—day of my life, I was behind the wheel of a 2,300-gallon water tanker truck heading straight toward the flames of a raging California wildfire. It was September 11, 2016. The Soberanes Fire was on its way to burning 132,127 acre
Guideposts7 min read
What You Wish For
“Am I speaking to Ricki Distin?” “Yes,” I said into the phone. My voice was wary. I didn’t have time for telemarketers. My husband, Denny, and I care for our adult son, who is disabled. Denny’s mother also lived with us. Denny is a small-town pastor.
Guideposts6 min read
Keeping It Real
Why is it so hard to make friends these days? Busy lives, digital distractions, lingering pandemic isolation—so much gets in the way of lasting friendship. Yet friends matter more than ever. Last year, the U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued an
Guideposts6 min read
Honor Thy Son
I’d been on plenty of marches in my time as a Marine, but never anything like this. My platoon today was undisciplined, stopping to kick at twigs, talking and laughing as we hiked through the woods, no one paying attention to the sound of rushing wat
Guideposts2 min read
Mysterious Ways
My dad had a funny habit of barking at our elderly Shih Tzu, Daisy, whenever he came to our house. “Woof, woof,” he’d say, and Daisy would wag her tail and bark back. “Good dog!” he’d praise her. It always made me smile. Dad had dementia and lived in
Guideposts6 min read
Worst-Case Scenario?
I was out for a run one morning when I felt a twinge in my left heel. It was November 2021. A beautiful fall day. I’ve been a runner most of my life. I’m used to occasional aches. I figured the heel pain would go away. It got worse. Two days later (I
Guideposts2 min read
What Prayer Can Do ®
Three weeks into a six-week outreach mission, I wasn’t sure how I would make it to the end. I was the lone American in an international group traveling through Belgium. We carried a 12-foot cross through different cities, performing dances, music and
Guideposts3 min read
In the Everyday
Dishes already filled the sink, and my three children hadn’t even finished their breakfast. “Hurry up, or you’ll be late,” I said. “Rafi, finish your juice. Liora, did you put your bicycle away?” “Rafi, that’s my juice!” my youngest, Hillel, shouted
Guideposts2 min read
Daily Prayers in Judaism
As an Orthodox Jew, I live my life immersed in the beauty and richness of the 613 mitzvot, the divine commandments embedded in the Torah, the Hebrew Bible, that shape the sacred relationship between us and God, as well as our interactions with fellow
Guideposts5 min read
Where I Belong
My name is Hannah Joy Xiao Ai McKean. I was born in Jiaozuo, a city in Henan province in central China. As a baby, I was left on the steps of a hospital. I spent the first four years of my life in an orphanage and a foster home. I never knew my birth
Guideposts6 min read
Swimming Lessons
My eyes took in the length of the indoor pool. Twenty-five yards that looked like 25 miles. “You can do this,” John, my coach, said. “The 200 fly. Don’t overthink it.” I’d swum competitively until quitting before my junior year in college, burned out
Guideposts1 min read
Coal Miner’s Daughter
With three number-one songs on the Billboard country charts by her mid-thirties, Loretta Lynn was eager to write another hit. But this time she wanted to prove to listeners that she “could write about something besides marriage problems.” So Lynn pen
Guideposts4 min read
Family Room ®
Patti Jo Caterson’s (Harold and Me, page 18) mission to honor World War II veteran Harold Gary continues. On May 13, 2023, Harold donned a cap and gown and received his college diploma, almost 80 years later than planned. In 1941, he’d enrolled at Br
Guideposts2 min read
Continued
My mother, Barbara, who turns 91 years old this summer, has read your devotional Walking in Grace (formerly known as Daily Guideposts) every morning for longer than my brother or I can remember. Quite a few years ago, she started gifting a copy to my

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