The cover of this week's Time Magazine is a bold red X through the year "2020," followed by the subtitle "The Worst Year Ever." The cover illustration cues to an essay titled "Our Awful Year: 2020 Tested Us Beyond Measure. Where Do We Go From Here?" Inside the essay, you will find pull-out quotes like, "This is the story of a year you'll never want to revisit," and, "Our most debilitating threat this year was a sense of helplessness."
Read MoreThe Yale Book of Quotations was first published in 2006 as a scholarly compilation of quotations focusing primarily on modern and American quotations. With an alphabetical list of more than 12,000 quotes, the book reflects its editors' exhaustive search for accurate original sources as well as misattributions (the phrase "Go West, young man" indeed was from Horace Greeley, for example, not John Soule as Bartlett's and The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations have erroneously reported).
Read MoreRather than steeping in the disappointment of a lonely Thanksgiving without family, Missy Buchanan wanted to come up with something silly and unexpected. So she and her husband shipped life-sized cardboard cutouts of themselves to their adult children and grandkids, and the family is still chuckling over the surprise.
Read MoreHannah longed for a baby. She had a loving husband and a comfortable lifestyle, but her desire went unanswered day after day, year after year. Compounding her grief was a rival wife, Peninnah, who bore children easily and taunted Hannah cruelly. Every time Hannah went to worship in God's house, Peninnah would be there jeering and reminding Hannah that God had not given her children.
Read MoreWhen life is quickly shifting beneath our feet, your greatest calling is to focus your eyes on the Lord -- watching for His brilliance in the natural beauty of the world around you and listening for His voice as He simply speaks your name. He knows your heart, He knows your fears, and He knows what brings you calm. As we anticipate a Thanksgiving that likely is not what we had planned, hear these words from The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence:
Read MoreIt can be frustrating when an anticipated purchase arrives and is not what we need or hoped for. And how devastating it is when the cornerstone we assumed was truth slides beneath us, leaving our faith shaken and our hopes shattered. Do you know anyone who is building their faith on secular promises, trusting in a culture that may or may not deliver what they desire?
Read MoreHow are you moving through the uncertainty of Election Day, of this week? Are you able to embrace the newness of a Bach toccata, or are you craving the comforting routine of a bedtime pattern that does not deviate? Be mindful of your lens this week, careful to ensure that, as L'Engle writes, "the edge has not been taken off the glory of God's creation."
Read MoreIn honor of Reformation Day 2020, the Presbyterian Historical Society is reminding churches of "The Plague Song" by Ulrich Zwingli, a priest in Zurich, Switzerland, who was closely associated with the Reformation alongside Luther and John Calvin. Early in his ministry at Groosmunster Church, Zwingli contracted the bubonic plague, which killed nearly half the residents of Zwingli's hometown, Zurich. Zwingli battled the plague in 1519 and 1520, ultimately recovering fully and living another 10 years.
Read MoreWhen Professor David Branscome signs off the Zoom session for his Ancient Mythology course at Florida State University, he typically says something like "Have a great weekend" or "See you next time." Students often respond with "Thank you" or "You, too" as they sign off as well, but earlier this month, Branscome heard an unexpected response: One student answered, "I love you." Surprised but without missing a beat, Branscome replied, "I love you, too."
Read MoreAt a cathedral in North Yorkshire, UK, volunteers have crafted more than 10,000 origami angels to hang from a net in the church's central nave. Each paper angel represents a prayer lifted during the COVID pandemic, and at-will donations from visitors who come to view the display have gone to support the Yorkshire Air Ambulance, a charity providing emergency service by helicopter to millions across all of Yorkshire.
Read MoreThe Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced this morning that three physicists have been awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics for their mathematical methods used to discover and define black holes: Roger Penrose (age 89) of the University of Oxford earned half the award for "the discovery that black hole formation is the robust prediction of the general theory of relativity," and Reinhard Genzel (68) and Andrea Ghez (55) jointly earned the other half for "the discovery of a supermassive compound object at the center of our galaxy" (see Academy announcement here).
Read MoreAre you ready to start paying for stuff you don't need with the wave of a hand? Amazon debuted "Amazon One" this morning, new technology that connects the palm of your hand with your credit card, allowing you to pay for items as you exit a store with the simple wave of your hand.
Read MoreFor many of us, the sight of a retired Boeing 747 perched on the roof of Evergreen Wings & Waves in McMinnville is a marvel: Can you imagine the water cooler conversation or board room meeting where the idea first launched?
"And then we could use a crane to lower a 747 onto the roof and run four huge slides looping 62 feet down into a splash pool ..."
Read MoreThe air quality index in the Portland metro area ranks as "hazardous" again today. For days, Portland has had the worst air of any major city in the world as we strain for a glimpse of blue sky or even a wisp of cloud through the smoke. Much like the Israelites of the Old Testament, we long for deliverance -- dreaming of rain that will wash the air clean.
Read MoreAs I write this, the Douglas firs surrounding our home are swaying wildly to and fro against a reddish smoke-thick sky, dropping fir cones across our deck like hail and showering loose branches across the driveway with each new gust. The air is thick with smoke from a Christmas tree farm down Baker Road that began burning last night, and sirens blare every so often as fire trucks speed past.
Read MoreBorn on a Scottish farm, Evelyn Glennie began losing her hearing at the age of 8; by age 12, she was profoundly deaf, having lost nearly all of her hearing to nerve damage. Glennie says she was angry at first, but when her percussion teacher asked her to rest her hand on the tympani drum, Glennie realized that she could listen by discerning the varying beats as they rose up through her forearm.
Read MoreHow are you doing with the humor challenge of this past Sunday? Have you made someone laugh today? Are you able to read Scripture with a new lens this week, seeking the moments where we too quickly read past God's good humor? (For a reminder of Sunday's sermon, check out our August 23 livestream here.) If you need inspiration, here are a few spiritual one-liners to get you started:
Read MoreI hope you are recognizing the importance of story in this crazy COVID era of confusion and consternation. What new narratives are we writing as we traverse this curious time? Can you imagine the bonds we all will share one day as we reminisce about 2020, telling tales of face masks and lockdowns, battles over toilet paper and Chlorox wipes? What better way do we have to connect with one another than the stories that we share?
Read MoreWarning: Please don’t run from bears or push your slower friends down in attempts of saving yourself.
Sometimes it's in our humor that we most clearly hear the slings and arrows of a culture, and even the National Park Service is not immune. Listen to these tips posted a few days ago warning visitors how to respond if they encounter a bear:
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