I am reading a fascinating book titled Savage Continent by Keith Lowe that focuses on the aftermath of World War II in Europe. It spends a long time outlining what life looked like for citizens and the masses of displaced peoples who had been imprisoned in work camps, concentration camps, and prison camps throughout Nazi … [Read more…]
The new preschool education standards focus on evaluating and teaching lessons in social emotional skills. This is something that was never present in preschool or public school educational goals in the past. Part of the social emotional educational goals is to teach empathy and conflict management skills. However, it has occurred to me that as … [Read more…]
I knew a woman who strongly believed that everyone was judging her, being purposefully unkind to her, and hated her. She lived day in and day out angry at all of her co-workers, wishing hardships on them, because they obviously disliked her and were harboring negativity towards her. Her anger increased by the day and … [Read more…]
This is the first Sunday in Lent. I think many people no longer know the purpose of Lent. Lent came into being as the Christian time of atonement. During this time, we are called to reflect upon the previous year, our relationships with one another, and how Christ died forgiving those in his life and … [Read more…]
Sometimes we live our lives for our own experiences, for our own purposes, and for our own convenience. This is what we are called to place aside when we come to faith. We are called to start putting the needs of others first and to fight against the injustices of the world. We are asked … [Read more…]
Today’s scriptures are all about God’s call in the lives of humanity. We all experience some kind of call or draw to God in our lives. So we all can relate to these accounts. I remember when I first became aware of my call. I was a young child of 12 years old. I remember … [Read more…]
During the Depression, there was widespread hunger, lack of employment, and homelessness. My Great Uncle and my Grandmother often told me that they knew of people who suffered greatly in town but being children of farmers they suffered very little and barely noticed the Depression. But what my grandmother remembered the most about that time … [Read more…]
I was watching the news the other day and like many people I find it increasingly more difficult to find reports that give me hope in the future of this world. There are reports of all consuming fires, bullying, more people dying from the flu, people dying from war, and copious amounts of political infighting. … [Read more…]
Light is such an important part of the Christmas season, even in our scriptures. God and Christ are portrayed as light illuminating the paths of righteousness for those who seek. Christ was born into a world that was run by violence. The Jewish people were subjugated by the Romans and a violent unstable despot was … [Read more…]
True hope can be a very powerful thing. Hope can bring out the very best in us. Biblical hope is different from desiring and wishing for something to occur. My Biblical dictionary defines hope as “trustful expectation, particularly with reference to the fulfillment of God’s promises. It’s the anticipation of a favorable outcome under God’s … [Read more…]
