Gaining a heart of wisdom
Before I was married, I worshiped with a lovely community of believers in Portland, a church planted in the days following World War 2, in which early services were conducted in Norwegian. Some of my friends and colleagues in ministry were second or third generation church members with roots deeply planted in that community and… Continue reading Why Is Worshiping God Together So Beautiful?
In the little church we call home, my husband and I are team-teaching the adult class, and our goal is an overview of the entire Bible. We're talking outlines, key verses, and major characters, but most of all, we want to consider how each of the sixty-six books fits into the narrative arc of God's… Continue reading Can We Justify Deep Learning In These Troubled Times?
Growing up in the era of analog timepieces, I was fascinated by my grandfather's pocket watches. The rhythmic tick and the steady movement of the second hand that somehow seemed connected to the slow movement of the minute hand puzzled me, so when his watch wore out, and he needed a new one, he gave… Continue reading Beware of Three Dangerous Myths about Wisdom
In the dark, in the car, hands on the steering wheel, I sighed in frustration. “I can’t do this anymore,” I said out loud, startling myself with the fierceness of my tone over the sound of the car’s heater. On that frigid January night, I was brittle with fatigue and hollow with disappointment. I had… Continue reading How I Found Myself Living in the Desert
If you are celebrating Easter today with an emphasis on the resurrection of Christ, if the joy in your heart has more to do with an empty tomb than a full basket of chocolate eggs, if you can articulate the wonder of God the Son dying and then coming fully back to life, it's probably… Continue reading Easter: God’s Powerful Invitation to Live in Unquenchable Hope
When he washed his disciples' feet, when he slipped away from the crowds for solitary prayer, when he honored, taught, and conversed with women, Jesus was a puzzle to his people. On Palm Sunday, we celebrate yet one more occasion in which "his disciples did not understand these things at first" because who rides into… Continue reading Did You Ever Wonder What It’s Like to be Humble?
Francis Collins, a well-known public scientist and, more importantly, a Christian, insists that the path to wisdom lies along the broken road of our mistakes. On a recent podcast interview, he shared this illustrative parable: A young student, intent on gaining wisdom, asks everyone he can find, "What is the source of wisdom?"His elders reply,… Continue reading Get Wisdom as You Learn from Your Mistakes
Doubt has a stubborn power over the human heart, and while it's an uncomfortable place to sit, it's a normal part of the human condition. Far better to bring it to the surface than to try to push it down. Like a beach ball in a swimming pool, it will surface anyway. There's a false… Continue reading Dealing with Doubt within a Life of Faith
These days, the Morin family is all abuzz with talk of names. That's because there are two little boys scheduled to make an appearance in 2025 (Two new grandboys!), and their parents have chosen strong and beautiful names for them. Parents of newborns typically have to run the gauntlet of naming questions:"Is that a family… Continue reading Who Is Jesus? (The Most Important Question)
Maybe you're old enough to remember an old song from the 1960s with the strong suggestion that "What the World Needs Now Is Love, Sweet Love." While I can't argue with the premise, I would humbly suggest that wisdom is a more immediate need. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfHAs9cdTqg Wisdom presiding over love sounds like an equation with a… Continue reading What the World Needs Now is Authentic Intelligence (AI)
Living Our Days 