In recent months, I’ve found myself mentally replaying a scene from the cult classic Monty Python and the Holy Grail titled “She’s a Witch!” As the scene opens, three villagers are excited at the prospect of burning a witch at the stake. They’re seeking the permission of Bedevere to complete their mission. Here is how…
In the northern latitudes, winter is dark. It is also cold and windy, but it is the long, persistent darkness that can overwhelm me. With sixteen hours of darkness each day, I cling to light in every form. Candles, lamps, and wood fires can all draw me close and soothe my soul. It’s not just…
My husband and I are one of those sappy couples filling our social media timelines this month with public gestures of love. On our anniversary this past year, I snapped a selfie of us kissing in front of “our church,” the place we got married in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park over a decade…
Who among us hasn’t asked this question at some point? Questions about love have been the subject of poetry, song, art, and even social media polls for years. All of America’s retailers would have us believe that love is some combination of red, large, and expensive. And that love is primarily celebrated in February, but…
I appreciate the “love” we give February. It’s such a hard month between the renewal of January and the hope of spring in March. If it weren’t for many of the important celebrations assigned, I fear it would be a dreary twenty-eight days to endure. Thankfully, Valentine’s Day does fall smack dab in the middle,…
Should Christians be nicer than non-Christians? Shouldn’t the Holy Spirit be turning Christians into humans who are nicer than their unbelieving friends and neighbors? The obvious answer is yes, yet our experience shows case after case in which non-Christians act with more kindness toward their neighbors than Christians do. Why is this? C. S. Lewis…