Cologne Cathedral is a stunning 7th-century Catholic church whose flying buttresses and multiple renovations have been a centerpoint of German nationhood for centuries. In 1670, a Cologne choirmaster offered white candy sticks to the younger children in his choir to keep them quiet during a live Nativity ceremony. When church elders protested the indecency of candy in church, the choirmaster bent the sticks into shepherds' crooks to align with the play.
Read MoreChrist promises us a supernatural peace that surpasses anything we may encounter here on earth: the pain, the disappointment, the longing, the irritants, the fleeting moments of happiness. What does it mean to live a peace-filled life despite the confusion that surrounds us? As we move through this second week of Advent, how does peace define your mission and your moments?
Read MoreAs we prayerfully meditate on Holy Spirit-inspired hope in this first week of Advent, consider these lines from Alexander Pope's 1733 poem "An Essay on Man":
Read MoreThe Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade started in 1924 when employees of the New York City flagship store marched to Herald Square in flashy costumes. They borrowed live animals from the Central Park Zoo and professional bands, and the parade culminated with a greeting from Santa Claus on the Macy's balcony at the 34th Street entrance.
Read MoreIn a moment of grade school frustration, one of my kids once said to me, "But how can I think outside the box when I can't even see the box??" Ah, the wisdom. Here is where a unique combination of biblical grounding, prayer, and Christian community come into play:
Read MoreIn contemporary English, Burns writes the following to the mouse whose home he has just unearthed: "But mouse-friend, you are not alone / in proving foresight may be vain: / the best-laid schemes of Mice and Men / go oft awry, / leaving us only grief and pain, / for promised joy!" In other words, we plan and worry, so often forgetting that God is in control.
Read MoreLast week, more than 2,000 sheep with jangling bells and shepherds dressed in traditional Spanish clothing replaced the usual gridlocked traffic in downtown Madrid. In a ceremony known as the Fiesta de la Trashumancia, shepherds guided their sheep to the capital for a ceremonial payment, then on to more southerly pastures for winter grazing.
Read MoreAs we close out October and move into November, consider the wisdom in this 2020 poem by former Oregon poet laureate Kim Stafford: “ Home School Thoughts for All of Us:”- In the pandemic, what should we all be learning?
Read MoreFor Big Band crooner Tony Bennett, age and even an Alzheimer's diagnosis have done little to slow his zest for life. Earlier this month, the Grammy Award winner set a Guinness World Record for being the oldest person to release an album of new material. When he released Love for Sale on October 1, Bennet clocked in at 95 years and 60 days -- hurrah!
Read MoreFor generations, the second Monday in October has been known as Columbus Day -- until this week in Oregon. The Oregon legislature approved renaming the day Indigenous Peoples Day by a generous margin, and Oregon is now the 13th state to make the transition. For details, look here: Oregon Recognizes Indigenous People Day; Tribes See Hope.
Read MoreWould you rather lead a calm or exciting life? In a 2020 Gallup poll released last Thursday and conducted in partnership with the Wellbeing for Planet Earth (WPE) Foundation, the verdict is clear: 72% of adults around the world say they would prefer to slow down and enjoy the moment rather than live life on the edge.
Read MoreIn his book Abba's Child, Brennan Manning describes the "unlived life" as a dispassionate vacuity of listless attitudes, an ambivalent mind, buried hopes, and unused talents. People waste years regretting steps not taken and dreams unfulfilled, and their mistrust of God and of the world holds them locked in passive reactions to each new day: "They die before they ever learn to live," Manning writes.
Read MoreWe started breaking records in April 2021, and the highs keep climbing higher: Nearly 4 million people in the United States have quit their jobs each month since April, a quitting trend unlike any we have seen since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began tracking this data. Experts are using phrases like "The Great Resign" and "Turnover Shock," and academics have even introduced a new branch of writing deemed "Quit Lit" ("lit" = literature).
Read MorePicture a grassy hillside dotted with black and white cows, peacefully grazing as the sun stripes the landscape. For most of us, scenes like this help us to slow down and marvel at the beauty of God's creation. But for those of us who have lived the rural life, we know this bucolic scene won't smell as lovely as it looks.
Read MoreIn 1987, Chinese government official Liu Xiaocheng was so deeply moved by the performance of a small group of artists with disabilities that he vowed to rewrite the negative stereotypes about people with disabilities in Chinese culture. Liu embarked on a recruitment trip through China, seeking talent for a new troupe of differently abled musicians.
Read MoreThe National History Museum in London released a number of entries for its annual Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition yesterday, and the photos are a breathtaking freeze-frame of God's artistry and perfection. According to this year's judges, the competition received a record number of entries this year: 50,000 submissions from photographers in 95 countries.
Read MoreWhen I was an undergraduate studying journalism in the 1980s, freedom of speech was a cornerstone of our Media Law and Media Ethics courses. Without the First Amendment, our professors affirmed, our nation would no longer be free. But anonymous speech was always a tenuous topic.
Read MoreWhen Hansle Parchment boarded a Tokyo bus en route to the Olympic Stadium on the day of his 110-meter hurdles semifinals race, he put in his earbuds and settled in for the ride, focusing on the competition ahead. But he realized something was amiss when the bus pulled into an aquatics arena rather than the stadium. Volunteers advised that he board a second bus in the other direction, but Parchment knew he would miss his warm-ups and possibly the race itself. Thankfully, a volunteer came to his rescue.
Read MoreFina Kiefer of Palmer, Alaska, was missing for almost two days on the Pioneer Peak Trail northeast of Anchorage when she emerged from the woods about a mile from the trailhead. An experienced hiker, Kiefer later reported that a surprise encounter with bears chased her off the trail and left her disoriented as she tried to find her way back to the trailhead.
Read MoreWhen the right-sized home went on the market in the right neighborhood in Skippack, Pennsylvania, Sara Weaver and her husband purchased the 1872 farm house without an inspection. And while the interior of the home seemed oddly dirty, in this booming house market when homes are selling for $100,000 above the asking price, buyers often don't have the luxury of pausing to ask questions.
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