As Susan Cain points out in her fascinating book, Quiet, American society went through an important cultural shift in the opening years of the…
A Beautiful Woman
Maturity and Flourishing / Spirituality
A beautiful woman Yesterday afternoon we drove 90 minutes north from Toad Hall to an old theater in the heart of Minneapolis. We parked…
Media Bias and Nurturing Wisdom
Community / Discernment / Maturity and Flourishing / Spirituality
In his landmark film series, How Should We Then Live? Francis Schaeffer presented his audience with a frightening image of the manipulative power of…
Being Serious About Playing
Maturity and Flourishing / Ordinary Life / Work and Rest
I taught a course last semester called Vocational Orientation—a course designed to help students uncover their divinely appointed callings in life. I began with…
Leaving All, Gaining All
Community / Faith / Family / Maturity and Flourishing / Safe Place / Spirituality
Author’s note: This was originally delivered as a talk at Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL on April 1, 2011, as part of a series of…
Offhanded Joy
Community / Faith / Hospitality / Maturity and Flourishing / Ordinary Life / Safe Place / Work and Rest
Dedicated: To my friends who helped the homeless of Louisiana. To those whose ate mangoes on a beach in Hawaii while their water pipes…
Over the Rainbow
Community / Creation / Maturity and Flourishing / Ordinary Life / Work and Rest
Over The Rainbow Something died in the guts of our house. As it ripened and decayed, Denis searched for it in among the cobwebs…
Should Christians Wear This Sh**t?: Discernment Exercise
Discernment / Maturity and Flourishing
This is only my impression, but I tend to believe that Christians tend to fall into two major categories: people who wear “Christian Tees”…
Talking Can Be Wrong
Maturity and Flourishing / Safe Place
Words can hurt. Having childhood tears dismissed with sarcasm, “real men don’t cry,” proved that to me early in life. Even truthful words can…
Everything Is Broken
Maturity and Flourishing / Music / Safe Place
Sometimes the simplest songs are best. I'm not thinking of simplistic music, the sort of mindless jingles that assault us in service of consumerist…