“A voice from the cloud said, ‘This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy. Listen to him.’” (Matt.17:5 NLT) Many of us have a tradition of choosing a word for each year that will guide us as we venture into the uncharted territory of another circle around the sun. The word I…
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thess. 5:16-18 NIV) These verses have taken on a whole new meaning in light of our country’s experiences over the past year. We’ve experienced a global pandemic, which has been especially bad in the United…
My physics professor at North Dakota State University was brilliant. He stood in front of the 450- seat auditorium and performed complex equations, the chalk in his hand ricocheting shrapnel as he pounded on the blackboard to stress the answer. He used at least one whole stick of chalk during each lecture. But his genius…
My cursor hovered over the word Send. My fingers felt frozen in place, unable to reply to the email and deliver my decision. Maybe it wasn’t a life-or-death decision, but it wasn’t a trivial, what-am-I-going-to-cook-for-dinner-type decision, either. Cautious person that I am, I’d deliberated for a long time. I’d made lists of pros and cons…
“All of creation will be shaken and removed, so that only unshakable things will remain. Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe.” (Heb. 12:27-18 NIV) When I left for college, I learned to expect an earthquake anytime. The…
For many years, I worked for a small, liberal arts college. Like many other institutions of higher education, they were working hard to manage rising tuition costs, decreasing numbers of traditional college students, and maintaining competitive salaries for staff and faculty. During the years I was there, the leadership changed a couple of times. But…