Hope Refines

The season of Advent often feels like you’re standing just at the edge of dawn. Have you ever been up in the morning for a sunrise?  Then you know exactly what I’m talking about:  The sky is still dim. The world is quiet. Yet there is just enough light on the horizon to tell you that morning … More Hope Refines

The Generous Life

226 years ago, in the year 1799, a twelve-year-old boy named Conrad Reed, skipped Sunday School to go fishing. He found a place to fish along Little Meadow Creek on his family’s farm in North Carolina. While standing by the creek, young Conrad saw what he thought was a “yellow rock shining in the water.” … More The Generous Life

Holding on to Hope:

A response to the political violence in Minnesota Dear friends, The grief that washed over Minnesota yesterday cuts deep into the soul of our community. Yesterday, our state lost a remarkable leader: former House Speaker and current DFL caucus leader Melissa Hortman, along with her husband Mark, who were shot and killed in their Brooklyn Park home. … More Holding on to Hope:

Permanent

Last week, Lori and I flew to Copenhagen, Denmark to spend a few days with our youngest son, Sam, who has been studying there this semester.  It was fun for us because A) we got to spend some time with Sam, and B) he had been living there for 12 weeks, so we had our … More Permanent

What We Listen For

“A man and a woman were walking along a crowded sidewalk in New York City.  Suddenly, the woman, who was a zoologist, said, ‘Listen to the lovely sound of that cricket,’ but the man could not hear the sound.  He asked: “How can you possibly hear a cricket, in the middle of all of this noise, and … More What We Listen For