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February 2015

February 02, 2015

Seeking Mystery in a Secular World

The topic, at the Eighth Day Institute symposium in Wichita, Kansas, was how to regain...

January 2015

January 30, 2015

The House Where Beauty Lives

"Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe...

January 29, 2015

The Sublime and Beautiful

From antiquity to the Enlightenment, one of the great aesthetic dichotomies involved the sublime and...

January 28, 2015

The Crucifix’s Motley Crew

Archibald Motley’s most famous paintings jump and jive, then they wail. You might have seen...

January 27, 2015

Kissing Sideways

“I want to write,” people often tell me, eager to talk about the myriad ways...

January 26, 2015

Is My Truth Your Truth?

I do not know which to prefer, The beauty of inflections Or the beauty of...

January 23, 2015

American Idol: A Guide for Hearing God’s Voice, Part 2

Continued from yesterday. While many desires prompt goodness, others trigger evil and thus can’t be...

January 22, 2015

American Idol: A Guide for Hearing God’s Voice, Part 1

I love American Idol and could hardly wait until this month when the fourteenth season...

January 21, 2015

Childhood Cinema Redux

Over our recent winter break, my husband and I introduced our two older kids to...

January 20, 2015

The Birmingham Project

I was looking into the eyes of a black girl around thirteen years old. She...

January 16, 2015

It’s Time to Derail the Gravy Train

Earlier this week we saw yet again what happens when thousands of the unemployed, living...

January 15, 2015

Breaking Up with My Job

Last week, I left the job where I have worked for the past seven-and-three-quarter years....

January 14, 2015

Hitch Your Wagon to a Want Ad

The year has turned, and I have yet another chapter in the annals of things...

January 13, 2015

St. Francis and the Bloody-Nosed Friar

Staying with friends in Silver Lake, Los Angeles for the holidays, I’ve taken to walking...

January 12, 2015

Monasticism In Lockdown America, Part 4: Asceticism

Today’s post continues a monthly series on my experiences introducing monastic practices to those I...

January 09, 2015

Wearing a Coat of Many Colors

Around eight years ago, I bought a coat. I hardly ever bought brand-new clothes, and...

January 08, 2015

Girl Meets God in the Classroom, Part 2

Continued from yesterday. On the first day of my class “Spiritual Autobiographies: Theirs and Ours,”...

January 07, 2015

Girl Meets God in the Classroom, Part 1

I had used Lauren Winner’s Girl Meets God once before in class, an honors freshman...

January 06, 2015

An Introvert’s Resolution

My husband and I saw a stage production of Harvey in Milwaukee last month. The...

January 05, 2015

#BlackLivesMatter to Poets

Poets are rising to the cause, hands raised ("Don't shoot!") but hands also holding pencils...

January 02, 2015

This Dark World is Precious to Me: 14 Songs for 2014

Guest post by Joel Heng Hartse This is my seventh yearly playlist for Good Letters....

December 2014

December 31, 2014

Arts & Faith Ecumenical Jury Awards: The Top Ten Films of 2014

Guest post by Kenneth R. Morefield In my post announcing the formation of the Arts...

December 30, 2014

Barry Moser: I Knew I was Home, Part 2

Guest post by Barry Moser The following post, continued from yesterday, is adapted from a...

December 29, 2014

Barry Moser: I Knew I was Home, Part 1

Guest post by Barry Moser The following post is adapted from a talk given at...

December 26, 2014

Where Is the Light in Our Darkness?

For most kids I knew, Christmas was a time of anticipation. Even if you hadn’t...

December 24, 2014

Certain Poor Shepherds

Long ago, when there were only three television stations, you had to wait for what...

December 23, 2014

The Ardent Whisper of God

Guest post by A.N. Muia The following post is adapted from a talk given at...

December 22, 2014

In Memoriam

If you live long enough in a place, people will start to die there, but...

December 19, 2014

Over the Rhine: Finding Our Tribe

Guest post by Linford Detweiler The following post is adapted from a talk given at...

December 18, 2014

Thinking About Poverty

What better time than Advent to ponder what poverty means? After all, Christ became poor...