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By Matthew Meyer Though Jacob had been born the same day as his brother Esau, Jacob was counted among his people as the younger brother. Esau was the heir to Isaac’s flocks and other material possessions. He would inherit a double portion when their father passed away and was buried with his father, Abraham. Esau had bullied his way into the world, shoving aside his brother to be born first. The younger brother clung to Esau’s heel for dear life. And so they named him Jacob

A portion of an earlier version of this story, named “Michal – A Cautionary Tale.” was read on the podcast Retelling the Bible. By Matthew Mayer I. Michal was just a little girl when the Philistines captured the ark of the God of Israel. It was a favorite story of hers to hear from her grandfather Kish. Michal loved stories. She had always been curious and inquisitive. As a girl, Michal would stand at the flaps of the tents, waiting for the men to return from the fields an

By Ell When I was a child, my elementary school took us to the zoo. Children love to see animals up close, and it was a beloved field trip by teachers. Like most kids, I wasn’t able to tell if an enclosure is too small or poorly designed for an animal. There was one animal that my classmates and I could tell was not okay. At the zoo, there was a polar bear enclosure. The bears had come from circuses. All of them had been abused while in the circus. The zoo was supposed to be

By Matthew Meyer I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and each will receive wages according to their own labor. (1 Corinthians 3:6-8, NRSVUE) Long before (Taylor’s Version), I remember listening to Taylor Swift’s “Welcome to New York” for the first time, driving through the streets of Beaver, PA. Th

By Welby Delinois The stories of both Killers of the Flower Moon and Dune: Part II are inherently tragic. Just not in the way people openly acknowledge, despite it being explicit in the very text of the movies. While the tragic aspect of the films is often focused on the protagonist of the films respectively. It’s ten times more tragic from the POV of the ultimate victims. Chani and the Freemen in Dune: Part II and Molly and the Osage in KOTFM. The major tragedy for said char