I can still remember the ritual we went through every morning in my 2nd-grade class. Our teacher came in and told us that it was time to put on our “Golden Rule Gloves.” Then, we pretended to pull gloves over our fingers as we recited “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Then we went through the motions of fastening three buttons on each glove as we said, “God is love. Love one another.” It makes… Read more

When I was younger, if you wanted to know what the latest news was, you read the newspaper in the morning or watched the national news at 5:30 and the local news at 6:00 and 10:00. Then CNN and Headline News showed up and you could get a feel for what was going on every 30 minutes. Even then though, you had to seek the news. You opened the paper or turned the channel to the news. We live in… Read more

For the past several years, I’ve been reading through Wendell Berry’s Port William novels. Berry, who is a writer and farmer from Kentucky, uses the stories of life in the fictional town of Port William from 1888 through 2008 to show the importance of responsible farming, avoiding debt, and connection to people and a place. Currently comprising eight novels and forty-four short stories, the Port William novels reflect a deep understanding of human nature, relationships, and how we are shaped… Read more

Some sins feel like they stick around for decades. This is especially true for those who deal with a quick temper and outbursts of anger. You see one or both parents struggle with it, you struggle with it, and it seems like a family trait you just have to endure for the rest of your life. Unfortunately, the progress seems so slow in fighting it that you face the temptation to give up and say it’s just the way you… Read more

Every Christian knows the feeling. You know you need to pray, but the words don’t come to you. Then you finally begin grunting out a few words, but God feels distant and you suspect your prayers stopped at the ceiling. Then you feel guilty because you struggle to pray and it quenches your prayers even further leading to a vicious cycle of guilt, shame, and confusion. We don’t have to be stuck in this position. Here are four basic truths… Read more