God’s providence is not blind, but full of eyes. –John Greenleaf Whittier, poet When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him.” . . . Joseph wept when they spoke to him. His […]
To those devoid of imagination a blank place on the map is a useless waste; to others, the most valuable part. ―Aldo Leopold, author and environmentalist The Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of […]
Our kids weren’t able to make it home for the holidays; they were working in public service positions. They—and many others— have chosen careers to serve those in need. There may be times when you feel like nobody cares, but the truth is that there will always be someone willing to lay his or her […]
Sadly, San Bernadino, CA was the scene of yet another mass shooting as assailants gunned down dozens of defenseless people at a social services center. I think we can all agree that this type of violence is becoming all too common. In glancing over some Twitter feed about the incident (before the identities of the […]
On September 22, 1955, not long before dark, 14-year-old Dave Hickman was out hunting with his grandfather when he heard an odd cooing sound. Spurred to investigate, the young man walked about 150 feet and climbed on top of a fence. Looking down, he spied an infant girl lying in the weeds, wrapped in a […]
The fallout from the Ashley Madison scandal continues, and it isn’t pretty. On August 18, 2015, hackers exposed the names of more than 30 million people listed on the adultery-oriented website. Six days later, Christie Gibson found her husband John’s lifeless body in their home. The 56-year-old pastor and seminary professor had taken his own […]
Sometimes, it feels as though living right is the wrong thing to do. Our world is full of self-absorbed people who cheat and oppress others with no apparent consequences. Meanwhile, the lives of virtuous people seem to overflow with hardship. God, it appears, looks the other way. If the prosperity of selfish people bothers you, […]
Chances are at one point or another you’ve seen one or more of the odd-looking stone statues—known as moai—from Easter Island far off the coast of Chili in the South Pacific. Legend has it that these figures with large heads were a means to honor, deify, and draw upon dead ancestors. The name “Easter Island” […]
The images are difficult to shake. Twenty-one bound men clothed in orange jumpsuits being paraded along the beach by masked fighters dressed in black. Some are fearful. Some are praying. All are about to have their heads severed from their bodies by members of the brutal Islamic State. All of those executed were Coptic Christians […]
Admittedly, there are days when I say to myself, “I can’t do this. The mountain in front of me is way too big to climb.” I strongly suspect that I am not alone in thinking this way. We all have days—maybe even seasons—when life seems really hard. When faced with such difficulties, we have a […]
