Meet professor, scholar, and essayist for "A Tale of Two Trees," Jonathan Koefoed. Jonathan chose the last song on the album, "By the Rivers of Babylon," and wrote a rich personal essay exploring, in the midst of a broken world, Christ's command to practice a peculiar hope.

Meet Poet, Artist, and Essayist for "A Tale of Two Trees," Susan Cowger. Susan chose the song "In the Waters" from the new album "A Tale of Two Trees" and wrote a stunning chapter combining personal narrative and original poetry called "Time Between the Times."

Meet editor, encourager, book coach, and essayist for "A Tale of Two Trees," Anita K. Palmer. Anita chose the song "Take to the Fields" from the new album, and she gives us the great gift of her honesty and vulnerability in an essay entitled, "Mercy in the Wind."

Meet singer, conductor, pianist, and essayist for "A Tale of Two Trees," Amber Salladin. Amber chose the song "The Word became Flesh," and wrote a stunning essay on how singing together, whether lament or praise, shapes us both body and soul into the likeness of Christ.

Meet Founder and Executive director of Cultivating Magazine (& The Cultivating Project), and essayist for "A Tale of Two Trees," Lancia Smith. Lancia chose the song "Let Your Roots Go Deep," and wrote an essay about longing and holding on in places of "mending and rooting."

Meet John Barnts, YouTuber, Bible translator, and essayist for "A Tale of Two Trees." John chose the song "Follow You Down" from the album, and wrote an essay tracing his personal journey of understanding suffering, not as something God does to us, but something we do with our wounded God.

Meet Jason Smith, story-gatherer, YA novel author (Fayborn Trilogy), and essayist for "A Tale of Two Trees." Jason chose the song "When I Cried Out" from the album, and wrote a wonderful essay about a God who hears us, meets us, and works with us through every hard place.

Meet Steven Elmore, President of the C.S. Lewis Foundation, teacher, and essayist number four for "A Tale of Two Trees". Steven chose the song "Like a Lamb" from the album, and wrote an essay exploring the joyfully surprising love revealed by our crucified Lord Jesus.

Meet Benjamin Holsteen, songwriter, PhD Candidate at St. Andrew's University, and essayist for "A Tale of Two Trees". Ben chose the song "How can we sing?" based on Psalm 137, and wrote an essay (that just made me cry) about the longing for home and trusting Jesus to get us there.

Meet classical educator, author, and essayist for "A Tale of Two Trees", Heidi White. Heidi chose the album's title track and write a myth-intoned essay exploring the storied history of cross of Christ, and how only the crucified Lord can transform us and the world.

Meet visual artist, world traveler, and essayist number one for "A Tale of Two Trees", Emily Verdoorn. Emily chose the song "You Belong" from the album, and wrote an essay called "Rain" exploring a new kind of thirsty longing that often follows having tasted Living Water.

I had a conversation this week about the need for encouragement, and how we often keep the good things we could say to each other to ourselves for a variety of reasons. They go unsaid. But no one can fill their own cup; we need to say the good things out loud to one another.

A friend asked about how to deal with cynicism, and it's been on my mind since. What an important question. This week, I'm sharing some thoughts on that, and I'll close with a prayer.

So often, good things are made to feel bad. But the Lord is always redeeming words and ideas that have gotten muddied by bad experiences or deceit. This week, I'll share a recent occasion of that for me, and my friend Amy Malskeit will close us with a "Prayer for God's Nearness."

I make terrible art all the time. I think what keeps us from making stuff, is feeling like we ought to be good at it first. But that’s impossible. So, this week, I’m thinking about the invitation to art-making as a way God extends grace to us, which frees us to just start enjoying it.

On a walk this week, I felt a reluctance to acknowledge the goodness of the emerging springtime beauty, and I wondered why gratitude felt a little dangerous to me. This week, I'll be exploring how gratitude is connected to hope, and how hurt can make hope scary. I'll close with a prayer for God's healing kindness.

Welcome to Season 5 of "One Thousand Words - Stories on the Way!" This week, I felt like I didn't want to add to the noise, but instead to point to words and sounds that "make quiet."

Meet teacher, poet, and essayist for "Only the Lover Sings", Rex Bradshaw. Rex chose the song "Meet me at the Well" from the album and wrote a wonderful essay called "The Digger's Tale". In it, Rex explores the wells we all dig on our own that run dry, and a meeting with One who is himself the wellspring of Living Water.

Meet educator, author, and essayist for "Only the Lover Sings", Junius Johnson. Junius chose the song "That won't stop Him" from the album and wrote a gut-wrenching essay of the best kind called "All you have to do is die: the power of abiding in death". In it, Junius walks with us to the shadowed valleys of our hearts, where we discover Jesus is more than willing to meet us with his redeeming care.

Meet writer, gardener, and essayist for "Only the Lover Sings", Amy Baik Lee :) Amy chose the song "I See a Light" from the album and wrote a rich essay called "The Sound of Eucatastrophe". In it, Amy leads us in story as she goes looking for the ways Jesus, in the midst of our darkness, meets us with a sudden, unexpected turn towards joy from "beyond the walls of the world."