A SAD Signal?

We may joke about Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) but it affects up to 15 percent of the population. Readers of C. S. Lewis might see SAD as more than a laughing matter. It could be one of many “signals of transcendence” that point to a greater reality.

Imagine That

When promised she would soon be pregnant, Mary asked How can this be? A particular aspect of Gabriel’s message didn’t make sense. It was implausible. Plausibility is a sticking point in the post-Christian world. Mary’s question reminds us that the path to reasonable faith begins with widening the imagination.

Christmas Ornaments

The Christmas story includes the “Massacre of the Innocents” – Herod’s slaughter of young male children in and around Bethlehem. Mothers were left inconsolable, like “Rachel weeping for her children,” writes Matthew. But that’s not the lesson to be learned from Rachel. The rest of her story can comfort those who have lost a baby.

Give Me a Break

We enjoy breaks more than the lectures. David Thornburg says conferences may feature great speakers, but within a day or two, people begin staying out in the hall talking to peers. These breaks are “meeting a need,” he writes. They represent the best learning spaces. Lectures less so.