In Ephesians, Paul compares the church, which is the body of Christ, to the human body. Christ gives a diversity of gifts so diverse members of his body can do diverse acts of service to build up the diverse body in unity in the faith and in the knowledge of Christ. In this way, each…
It’s late spring when graduation celebrations abound. We’ve been to some special ones. A young woman, who was rescued as a teenager from a troubled background, shone at her recent graduation. A COVID graduation—held in a parking lot with chairs socially distanced—where the valedictorian said, “Serious times demand serious reflection. The faith that we had…
Our plane was scheduled to leave at 7 PM. Our gate agent said our takeoff would be delayed, then invited us to gather around the windows to honor the fallen soldier whose body had been flown home on our plane. Military vehicles arrived. Military personnel gathered solemnly. The United States Army Honor Guard stood at…
The following is an excerpt from Picnicking with God. I wrote this when I was grieved over my father’s death. He was born one hundred years ago today. When I am grief-torn, I head for the hills, to that one spot in the cemetery where I can block out the fairgrounds and McDonald’s, and see…
One Mother’s Day our young sons announced, “Your Mother’s Day present is that we are going to let you finish your lunch.” It was a fitting gift, for in those days I rarely finished a meal. Kids jumping on chairs, spilling drinks, and squabbling left me wanting to hire Emily Post . . . better…
One of the five males in my family is steady and focused. We thought he was the unusual one. The rest of my men say he has ASD—Attention Surplus Disorder. My other guys didn’t answer my questions when I was sitting right beside them, but they talked to me, from the other end of the…
While we were interpreting in Guatemala, I traced the temple theme throughout the Old Testament. Guatemala was a great schoolroom for studying the parallels between Eden and the Garden-of-Eden-like tabernacle and temple. Like Eden and the Guatemalan sky, the tabernacle and temple had curtains of blue, purple, and scarlet. Like Eden, the Guatemalan landscape glowed…
As captain of the Beagle, Robert FitzRoy wanted to bring the gospel to the Yaghan people of Tierra del Fuego. FitzRoy had encountered the Yaghan on the Beagle’s first voyage. He had gone back to England with three Yaghan youths he wanted to disciple then return to their home as missionaries. Darwin was on the…
When friends moved to an unnamed North African country, they urged us to read Patricia St. John’s Star of Light—which is set in an unnamed North African country—to help us understand our friend’s new environment. I was charmed by its characters: dimply Kinza and courageous Hamid. I was also intrigued by the way St. John…
When I was in first grade, we were asked to write a story. I scrawled sixty-some pages of stories, and crayon illustrations. My teacher wrote her only comment on the last page, “I don’t think all of these are completely original.” Obviously, she had never heard of mimetic instruction. In my ninth-grade world civilizations class,…
