There is little more satisfying in our earthly lives than pulling up a thistle or dandelion by the roots. That’s exactly what I was doing when I heard our 5-year-old’s voice cry, “Aaah! You’re digging up my beautiful dandelions!” I looked over to see an altar of dandelions she had harvested in the center of our small garden, in addition to the bouquet in her hands. How is one person’s weed another person’s beautiful flower?
Read MoreI still remember moments on youth trips and college retreats where we heard the crucifixion story in a darkened room. We sang music about Christ’s blood shed for us, whose personal sins had nailed Jesus to the cross. We were asked where we hoped to spend eternity.
Read More“Salt of the earth” has become a cliché, says Jewish New Testament scholar Amy-Jill Levine in The Sermon on the Mount: A Beginner’s Guide to the Kingdom of Heaven. Yet when Jesus tells this to his disciples, it isn’t a command, it’s a fact: “You are the salt of the earth.” The “you” is plural, as in “y’all.” Jesus specifically tells the disciples they are the salt of the earth. They exist not for themselves alone but for the world. Just like salt is needed for preserving, seasoning, and giving life, disciples are to season, color, and make the world more alive. They represent what is good in the world.
Read MoreThe IU men’s basketball news had our household in a tizzy on Monday. My husband obsessed over the details of the buyout, the possible new head coaches, and the best outcome for the team. I could not let go of the potential $10.5 million given to fire the coach. I tweeted about the many ways that money could have benefited Bloomington and the university in terms of education, poverty, health care, the environment, children, youth, and students, and yet we spent a vast earthly treasure on sports. Our priorities seemed so contrary to what Jesus advocates in the Sermon on the Mount.
Read MoreIn the dark and freezing cold temperatures last week, we made an ice globe. We took a balloon, filled it with water, and then let it freeze outdoors for a few days. When we cut off the balloon, we dumped excess water out of the hollow ice globe. Then we lit a tealight candle, placed it inside the globe, and admired the beauty on our porch. “Let your light shine before others,” Jesus told his disciples in the Sermon on the Mount, “so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”
Read MoreWhen I was around 5, I tumbled off my Ms. Pac-Man Big Wheel and skinned my knee deeply enough that I still have the scar. I had removed the back seat from the Big Wheel and was riding on my knees down a small driveway hill. The pain of the injury taught me not to ride the Big Wheel improperly again.
Read MoreI wonder what renewal looks like in your life. Maybe it’s a new notebook to begin the semester. Perhaps it’s the feeling of entering the ocean and feeling the waves wash away the sand from your skin. Maybe it’s giving or receiving forgiveness in a relationship, then doing the fragile work of reconciliation.
Read MoreWe greet your arrival with wonder, Loving God, that you would humble yourself and come to us as a child. This year has humbled us with grief, loneliness, exhaustion, and anxiety. Shine your light in our darkness and illumine our path with your presence.
Read MoreWhen I was four years old, I received an amazing gift the week before Christmas – a baby sister. I was so excited to play with her and care for her. Yet my mom says about two weeks later, the novelty had worn off. Turns out a tiny baby doesn’t make much of a playmate.
Read MoreThis pandemic has awakened my senses. Perhaps it’s the slower pace of life. Perhaps it’s the extended time at home. Even the most ordinary moments seem stronger, brighter, and more lovely to me.
Read MoreWhen our daughter was about two years old, she entered the “Mine!” phase, grabbing toys and art supplies away from other children at daycare. In addition to correcting her, we read to her Todd Parr’s The Peace Book, a brightly illustrated children’s book with lovely thoughts about peace: “Peace is saying you’re sorry when you hurt someone. Peace is helping your neighbor. Peace is thinking about someone you love.”
Read More
