A Christian Voice for Today's Challenges
In my last post, Hatred in American Politics and Culture, September 13, 2025, written in response to the assassination of Charlie Kirk, I quoted David French and sounded an alarm that there was “a momentum of hate and fear building in the United States, threatening to consume us with its growing impulse for violence.” (As … Read more
America experienced yet another horrific day of gun violence yesterday, September 10, 2025. At a public event on the campus of Utah Valley University, an assassin’s bullet killed Charlie Kirk, the nation’s most visible and persuasive voice for the far-right conservative movement and a husband and father of two beautiful children. Two people of interest … Read more
Across the nation, United States flags are flying at half-staff, a solemn tribute in response to the devastating school shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church and School in Minneapolis, Minnesota. President Trump described it as “a senseless act of violence.” Pope Leo XIV urged, Let us plead [to] God to stop the pandemic of arms large … Read more
As I have mentioned before, Tim works for a company that recommends books that will enhance its employees’ understanding of positive corporate perspectives, personal dynamics and values. He does a lot of driving for his job, so he conveniently listens to them on audiobooks, but he sends the hardcover books to me. One of his … Read more
The lectionary’s Gospel reading for last Sunday, August seventeenth, is a problematic passage, Luke 12:49-56. In today’s hyper divided world, divisions we so lament and over which we labor, this scripture makes us super uneasy and conflicted. The passage reads as follows: Jesus, the Cause of Division 49 “I have come to cast fire upon the … Read more
Each of the gospels includes the story of the feeding of the five thousand men and the uncounted women and children. In each account, (Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:32-44; Luke 9:10-17; John 6: 1-21) Jesus has just heard about the death of his cousin, John the Baptist, and he is deeply distressed. He decides that he … Read more
On July 12, 2025, the Speaker of the House, MAGA Mike Johnson (R, La.), posted an op-ed on X. (Yes, the same MAGA Mike that just sent the House home for summer vacation to prevent a vote on the release of the Epstein files.) The post was a written response applauding a recent ruling by … Read more
Our good friend and neighbor, Barbara, is enjoying a three-week visit by her daughter and daughter-in-law and her two grandchildren. They all love the lake, and our grandson, Cole, loves having them here. We have a water blanket for them that we tie to the edge of the dock. They run the length of the … Read more
The Fourth of July on the lake is always fun. The town of Coventry sponsors a spectacular fireworks display the week before, and during the week after the fireworks, lake residents prep up their properties for the holiday, displaying bunting on their docks and decks and hanging signs somewhere on the property that tell how … Read more
On June Fourteenth, yet another heinous act of violence took place and staggered the nation. After allegedly taking months of planning, a shooter assassinated a Minnesota lawmaker and her husband and attempted as well to kill a second state elected politician. The murder spree unfolded over a roughly ninety-minute time span. The suspect, 57-year-old Vance … Read more