Mar
14
2023
At the conference Shann and I spoke at, we invited people to practice asking forgiveness. I role played with a woman who had been a Princeton professor for many years. Her eyes were incredibly empathetic. We both tried to...
Mar
13
2023
I sit watching about 20 robins congregating in the trees. They greet each other noisily and swoop continuously between my neighbor’s tree and mine.
They have bright red breasts and look so happy together. I feel the beauty of God...
Mar
09
2023
One of Dad’s favorite hymns came on when I was listening to my Pray As You Go app. The words say, “Thou my best thought by day or by night.” I can’t believe how that tiny line summarizes the way forward,...
Mar
08
2023
Driving through a beautiful college campus, I notice several ugly tree stumps in the middle of the landscaped meridian. They jut sideways with sharp points. I remember these trees. The trees, though flowering and covered in blossoms for spring...
Mar
06
2023
I loved my conversation with a devout atheist on a recent flight. I think he enjoyed the conversation as well. It was never truculent or contentious but full of curiosity as we both worked to understand the other person’s...
Mar
02
2023
Our family recently listened to a sermon delivered on the wrath of God. If you cringe reading this, it was cringeworthy. The message was delivered in a one-hour yell, a screed full of blame, without self-reflection and self-responsibility. Shann,...
Mar
01
2023
I met a devout atheist on a flight recently who loved Christopher Hitchens, a world-famous atheist. Hitchens contracted throat cancer and died denying God. My flight companion asked me what I thought of the “Christian” responses saying Christopher deserved...
Feb
28
2023
I would really love to have a conversation with my dad about loneliness. I never asked him if he struggled feeling lonely.
The main definition of loneliness is a feeling of being disconnected. I can’t think of a more disconnected...
Feb
27
2023
I read an evocative post about the thief hanging on the cross.
He did not get baptized. He didn’t do anything most churches classify as salvation. He simply honored and revered Christ and humbly asked to be remembered. It is...
Feb
25
2023
I had a beautiful opportunity on a flight to Oklahoma recently to talk with a brilliant person who memorized the poetry of GM Hopkins and John Milton when he was younger. It is so rare to find readers and...
