We live in a society that celebrates our inner Marthas; we are affirmed for being productive, busy, and active. Our inner Marys, on the other hand, receive minimal, if any, encouragement....

It is said that Michelangelo could look at a plain block of marble and see what was invisible to everyone else: the image that dwelled beneath the surface, waiting to be...

Music beautifully and mysteriously blends sound and silence. Even the lovely bird songs of the early morning naturally mirror this gift of both chirping and quiet. The balance between notes and...

A headline about Psalm 52 might have read something like this: “Saul orders slaughter of priest and family, over eighty-five dead.” In 1 Samuel 21 and 22, we learn that David,...

Every week during the summer, I pick up a delicious basket full of summer fruits and vegetables from UpCycle Farm—tomatoes, zucchini, watermelon, strawberries, and more. My family eats, stores, or shares...

True story (pun intended): As a boy grew, he developed a noticeably odd way of walking. He leaned to one side. Doctors put him through a battery of tests but found...

If tradition holds true and Jesus was a carpenter, it is interesting that he never pulls a plumb line out of his toolbox for a parable or two. Nonetheless, much of...

Most houses are not plumb. Some were never built that way; others have settled or shifted. It is almost impossible to bring an out-of-plumb house back into true. We think of...

Yesterday we pondered the good news that changed the people at Colossae. Today we go back to Amos. Amos’s words are difficult, and they feel like anything but good news. This...

Nightly news about the economy, politics, and world affairs is often bad news. We hear of attacks, abuses, pollutions, starvations, and contaminations. Most nights we wonder why we don’t ever hear...