One might ask, why am I here? We don’t remember our own birth and we don’t know when we will die, so we try to stave off the anxiety of our mortality. In the laze of light at the end of day, sometimes I remember. The sated moments are never accolades, but rather moments of…
Category: Hope
What is Truth?
After Solzhenitsyn was stripped of his Soviet citizenship in the seventies, he wrote a parting letter, “Live Not by Lies”, to the intelligentsia admonishing them not to participate in or support a lie. He wrote, “In our country, the daily lie is not the whim of corrupt nature, but a mode of existence, a condition…
Leader, Is Your Soul Healthy?
“Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.” 3 John 1:2 As a leader, you rarely get a hiatus. At times you are hounded, pounded, and dumbfounded, so you must make a daily choice to be astounded by God’s goodness and grace. You…
How do We Overcome Weariness?
I’ve been thinking about weariness and its cure. I enjoy thriving (who doesn’t?), yet I am continually compelled to pioneer in dark places. When Christine Caine spoke at the Summit on the Global Refugee Crisis and the Christian Response a few days ago, she said, “We run TO the darkness. We should be God’s search…
The Soviet-Era Elevator, the Sum of all Fears, and the Solution
Everywhere I’ve traveled recently, adversity has been knocking on people’s doors and camping out. Or it’s hitting close to home when shootings occur in strip malls and movie theatres, racial tensions mount in our cities, and in war-torn places people have to leave their homes or send off loved ones to fight. In addition, we…
On Suffering and Hope: Boston Bombings on Israel’s Day of Remembrance
At the finish line of a marathon, vulnerability and personal achievement mingle with sweat, tears and embraces. The culmination of a race affirms life. Many marathoners exemplified this by raising funds to donate to worthy causes. In this life-affirming setting, we were reminded once again that evil raises its ugly head in the most unwelcome moments. In…
In Loving Pursuit
“Life’s greatest happiness is to be convinced we are loved.” -Victor Hugo How would you make your spouse fall in love with you again if they could not remember you? Or, more commonly, if they could not forget a time of great difficulty? “The Vow” is a film loosely based on the true story…
Comfort and Joy
Telling stories breathes life into them, forming habitations in our minds and hearts built with words. I remember as Christmas approached during my early childhood we would deck the halls, then my father would lift me into his arms and carry me around to see the dazzling ornaments, especially the ones too high for me…
One Resolution: Faith in a Faithful God
As we celebrated the New Year at Maidan (Independence Square) in Kiev with thousands of jubilant people I thought if the euphoric hope for a better year could be bottled and sold on grim days it would significantly boost the economy. But wishes and good cheer do not lead to improvement. After the countdown to…
Myra Watkins 