Life expectancy… The issues for us to consider are many: the breakdown of the family, the need for meaningful work, the decline of family farms, the abuse of opioids, the isolation and social dislocation of social media, the breakdown of social institutions – the issues are many. But there is another layer of conversation to […]
Years ago I was teaching alongside Connie in a VBS class of kids who were just learning to color and draw. The lesson had been on a verse in James 4 about sowing peace. As we passed around the crayons with the encouraging “you get what you get and you don’t get upset” line, everyone […]
Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow? Remember when Mary presumed the man she saw on the first Easter morning was the gardener? Think about that. The risen Christ looked like a gardener to one of the people who knew him best in all the world. As we till the soil of life, […]
I was touring a ministry center where young women victimized by sex trafficking are recovering, getting an education, and learning to live as members of a family for the first time. They were robbed of their childhoods and many of them never went to school. The dining room was being decorated for what looked […]
What’s today’s date? The full date? When you said it, did you include the formal label “AD.” Probably not, we only use it on diplomas and legal documents – but it is true that every day we live is AD. AD stands for Anno Domino, or “the year of the Lord.” We use AD […]
Reconnect One, with Carmen LaBerge: Thanksgiving is coming! This means, turkey, football, and family. It can also mean drama and arguments and hurt feelings. Here is an idea: rather than fall into our typical patterns of avoidance or attack, prepare our hearts now for potentially difficult conversations. What would it look like if you leaned […]
It was only a murmur, “what’s wrong with the world?” I could have ignored the comment and I could have ignored him. I had my own table, my own coffee, my own work. I could have, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t stop myself from glancing over to see what provoked him to ask one of […]
Just because something is not my fault does not mean it is not my responsibility. Let’s admit it: we hate being blamed for things. Blame casting is almost never productive. But while something may not be my fault, if I am in a position to respond, it is now possibly my responsibility. Just because I’m […]
Sin is the one pre-existing condition we all share. We are born with it. We bear the consequence of the fall in our bodies and in our minds. The reason healthcare is such an emotional issue is because it is a personal one. Genetics and lifestyle may prove a hedge for some […]
The Reconnect with Carmen LaBerge · As the World Turns As the World Turns was a CBS soap opera that aired for 54 years. But even that long run was not enough to lay claim to longest or even second longest daytime soap opera. Those records belong to General Hospital and Guiding Light. The very […]