One of the deadliest wildfires in US history decimated the town of Lahaina, Hawaii, in August 2023, killing ninety-nine people and destroying more than two thousand buildings. Still reeling from the devastation, residents experienced additional trauma when some looters pillaged buildings and greedy realtors attempted to gobble up land. The corrupt desire to take advantage…
Each fall in my youth, my grandmother got the JCPenney Christmas catalog. With a zealous delight, I spirited it away to ponder its marvelous images. These days, those images show up on our smartphones daily—the algorithmic distillation of our hopes and dreams, a personalized feed tailored to us. It’s easy to get lost in them….
Late autumn 1941. The Sunday service had just concluded. As their father lingered at the little north-country church, my dad and his siblings walked the short distance home. When their father came up the snowy hill to the farmhouse, he was crying. He’d just learned Pearl Harbor had been bombed. His sons—my dad included—would be…
Rosie’s birthday celebration was unforgettable. The food was tasty, the table banter was fun, and the presence of her first grandson was icing on the cake! These good things, however, paled in view of her two sons’ tributes to her. Though Rosie’s marriage didn’t last, her exceptional skills as a single mom marked her sons….
Diognetus, a second-century pagan, noticed that followers of Christ “day by day increase more and more.” This was despite regular persecution they endured under the hand of the Romans. He asked a believer in Jesus why this was true. In a document we know as the “letter to Diognetus,” that early church father replied to…
On a road trip to Montana one summer, we stopped at a rest area to stretch our legs. Inside one of the buildings was a young man who was singing a familiar praise song as he mopped the floor. Then he started singing the hymn, “It Is Well with My Soul.” I couldn’t resist. When…
“No matter where you are, what you’re going through; use what you have and make the most of it,” said the young woman in a TV interview. Her words prompted me to listen carefully to the full story. I learned that she was one of six sisters working toward nursing degrees. They were once homeless…
Thomas de Mahy was one of many aristocrats executed by rioting mobs during the French Revolution of the late eighteenth century. According to one legendary account, upon reading his death warrant, de Mahy responded, “I see that you have made three spelling mistakes.” If true, de Mahy pointedly disregarded a drastically more significant matter—his imminent…
On January 14, 1973, when Super Bowl VII was played, perfection was on the line. Up to that point in the American football season, the Miami Dolphins had a perfect record—sixteen games without a loss. And when the Super Bowl was over, the victorious Dolphins would go down in sports history as the only team…
My friend Christine and her husband sat down to dinner at their aunt and uncle’s house. Her aunt had recently been diagnosed with an aggressive cancer. Before anyone started to eat, her uncle asked, “Does anyone have anything to say?” Christine smiled because she knew he meant, “Does anyone want to pray?” He wasn’t a…