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April 2026

April 26, 2026

The Mulch of the Spirit

A few days ago as I walked onto campus I was struck by a distinctive...

February 2026

February 15, 2026

The World Can Shine Like Transfiguration

Today is Transfiguration Sunday, the last Sunday before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent....

December 2025

December 23, 2025

Love Comes Down

Since Christmas falls on Thursday this year, I'm sending this week's middle-of-the-week post a couple...

July 2025

July 20, 2025

Anna’s Promise and the Power of Love

In spite of my love of and occasional success with flowers and plants, I have...

June 2025

June 09, 2025

A Force of Nature’s Birthday Is Today!

Today is Jeanne's birthday. It's an important one as she begins a new decade. Last...

June 06, 2025

Planted By the Streams of Water

Pastor Dan, the interim pastoral caretaker of the Lutheran church that Jeanne attends (and I...

February 2025

February 23, 2025

What Happens When We Pray?

In her spiritual memoir Still, Lauren Winner begins a brief chapter on prayer by noting...

February 11, 2025

Seeing the Soul: Love, Beauty, and the Mystery of Connection

Beautiful Souls Because I'm a romantic at heart, I'll be posting two Valentine's Day-themed posts...

August 2024

August 16, 2024

What I Learned About Teaching From My Favorite Movie

Last Sunday Jeanne and I had guests over for dinner whom we had not seen...

May 2024

May 23, 2024

Consider the Lilies . . .

I am working my way through my book A Year of Faith and Philosophy making revisions,...

May 09, 2024

The Smell of Mulch in the Morning

Here's an essay from late April 2015 that celebrates all things spring--flowers, trees, and mulch--with...

April 2024

April 23, 2024

Of Betta Fish and Forgiveness

One day several years ago, Jeanne said “I want a fish.” This was a rather...

March 2024

March 21, 2024

Growing Tomatoes on Death Row

In my various courses this semester we have spent a good deal of time developing...

February 2024

February 15, 2024

A Terrible Beauty

The sea pronounces something, over and over, in a hoarse whisper. I cannot quite make...

January 2024

January 14, 2024

How Solitude Can Lead to God

The building looked like the love child of a logic problem and a crossword puzzle....

November 2023

November 16, 2023

Is Confirmation Bias a Bad Thing?

Commenting on a new blog essay that I wrote while on retreat last summer, a...

November 12, 2023

The Cost of Doing Evolutionary Business–God and Darwin have a conversation

Regular readers of this blog know that I am currently thinking through an old issue--the...

October 2023

October 03, 2023

Why October is the Best Month

Today is the third day of October, and that's a very good thing. I took...

April 2023

April 11, 2023

A Very Reluctant Rose

A few days ago on campus I detected a familiar, seasonal odor wafting on the...

March 2023

March 05, 2023

My Prime Number Birthday

Tomorrow is my birthday. You get one guess for how old I’ll be, with these...

December 2022

December 01, 2022

An Advent Wish: Peace Be to You

Advent began last Sunday. For many reasons, Advent is my favorite season of the liturgical...

September 2022

September 10, 2022

Remembering 9/11 and Becoming a Better Person

Everyone beyond a certain age can remember clearly what they were doing twenty-one years ago...

July 2022

July 20, 2022

The Webb Telescope Images and Confirmation Bias

I had an unexpected and very interesting exchange concerning science and faith on Facebook the...

May 2022

May 17, 2022

An Evolving Faith: It’s About Survival, not Progress

To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven. Ecclesiastes...

April 2022

April 17, 2022

I Will Awaken the Dawn: Some Thoughts for Easter

Our seven-month old corgi Bovina, one of the greatest joys of Jeanne’s and my life,...

October 2021

October 01, 2021

What is the best month, and why is it October?

Today is the first day of October, and that's a very good thing. Autumn is...

August 2021

August 24, 2021

Remembering Winnie: What Our Pets Teach Us About What’s Important

Our dachshund Winnie died a week ago. She spent a bit over twelve years with...

June 2020

June 02, 2020

God and Darwin have a conversation about diversity

A number of years ago, during a public forum on my campus focused on steps...

April 2020

April 18, 2020

9/11, the Coronavirus, and Becoming a Better Person

Everyone beyond a certain age can remember clearly what they were doing eighteen-and-a-half years ago...

November 2019

November 27, 2019

My Advent Wish: Peace Be To You

Advent begins this coming Sunday. I was raised in a version of Christianity that had...

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