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Today we celebrate the promise of new life—the assurance that no matter the darkness and despair, always there is light and hope. Even after a long winter, spring always triumphs, and life is renewed: one blossom, one flower, one person at a time. Spring is never more invigorating than in the life of an individual, […]
There is beauty all around when there’s love at home.”1 Think what could happen to the world if everyone had a place of love, peace, and security to come home to. Ponder the power of love—anywhere, but especially at home. One family was given the rare opportunity to see how the mood in their […]
Great songs have staying power, not just because the tune is catchy and the words rhyme. Great songs carry a great message—one that is both timely and timeless. One such great song was recorded by Louis Armstrong in 1968, in a nation embroiled in race riots, assassinations, and war protests. In the midst of this […]
What if we were willing to reach out in love and kindness without expecting anything in return? What if love, the universal language, inspired our words and actions? A boy named Danny felt the power of such love when he found his mother’s best shoes caked with mud after a rainstorm. Without telling her, Danny […]
A young student sat at his desk, beaming as his teacher praised his perfect score in front of the rest of the class. But when the tests were handed back, he realized he had actually made a mistake and didn’t truly deserve his perfect grade. He debated with himself whether to tell the teacher or […]
Beautiful art is good for the soul. It can lift and inspire; it can calm and soothe; it can inform and enlighten. Art improves our quality of life and has been shown to stimulate brain function, reduce stress, and help us focus on things that really matter.1Those who take time to appreciate art—in its many […]
More than seven decades ago, a popular film swept the country—a magical tale of a girl searching for home, for happiness and peace. The enduring appeal of The Wizard of Oz has made it a beloved part of American culture. At its heart, the movie features a ballad, “Over the Rainbow,” which won the Academy […]
Winners do not always finish first. This observation seems contradictory—finishing first is what winning means. We are taught from early on that life’s winners are those who come out on top, who make the most money, who score the highest, jump the farthest, and run the fastest. Very often, to those with the so-called “winning […]
Just as individuals can overcome hardship and surmount challenges, so can communities and nations. Very often, it is in the soil of difficulty that the fruit of resilience and progress grows. Nearly a hundred years ago, the cotton crops of Enterprise, Alabama, were devastated by a boll weevil infestation. The area’s economy was shattered, and […]
Years ago, Jenkins Lloyd Jones wrote the following about marriage, and about life: “There seems to be a superstition among many thousands of our young [men and women] . . . that marriage is a cottage surrounded by perpetual hollyhocks to which a perpetually young and handsome husband comes home to a perpetually young and […]
Have you ever seen a painting by the artist Renoir—in a museum, perhaps, or in a book of impressionist art? We marvel at the beauty he captured, the sudden burst of color in a portrait, the serenity of a French meadow scene. But as famous as Renoir is, few people realize that he painted much […]
Nineteenth-century American writer Christian Bovee once said, “The small courtesies sweeten life; the greater, ennoble it.”1 Sometimes, with the pressures and stresses of life, we might forget that in many cases, the small things are the big things. The lessons of good manners we learned as children—to say “please” and “thank you” and “excuse me”—may […]
On a blustery winter evening in 1956, Martin Luther King attended a church meeting in Montgomery, Alabama, leaving his wife and baby at home. Near the close of the meeting, a man burst into the room and announced that King’s house had been bombed. King rushed home to find his wife and baby safe; the […]
Very often, the surest way to make an adversity or heartache a little more bearable is to think a little more about the adversities and heartaches of others. It’s truly remarkable how such a simple shift in focus can change everything. Devin was one of those who faced serious hardships in life and yet found […]
The beginning of a new year is a good time to remember that most darkness is temporary. No matter how bleak or dark things may seem at times, the long nights of winter gradually grow shorter, a new day eventually dawns, and with it comes a new beginning and new confidence. Hope is the flame […]
One hundred and fifty years ago, Christmas of 1861, the great American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was too filled with grief to celebrate. Only months earlier his beloved wife had died in a tragic accident. At the same time, the country was caught up in a terrible civil war, and it seemed to Henry that sorrow filled not only his own life but the whole world. He wrote, "How inexpressibly sad are all holidays.”1
And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Cesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed… And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of […]
The first Christmas carol that many children learn invokes a tender scene: “Away in a manger, no crib for his bed, The little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head; The stars in the heavens looked down where he lay, The little Lord Jesus, asleep on the hay.”1 With words easy enough for a child […]
Sometimes the most extraordinary things happen in the most ordinary places. Two thousand years ago, in a very common setting, a shepherd’s field, angels proclaimed “good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people” (Luke 2:10). That holy message of heavenly hosts was delivered not to the pompous or the powerful but to […]
The month of December is a time of joyful anticipation. The sights, sounds, and smells of the season evoke feelings of excitement and wonder. For generations, children—and grown-ups—have used advent calendars and paper chains to count down the days. But does our focus ever become so fixed on the future that we forget to enjoy […]
True gratitude manifests itself in how we choose to give to others. When we truly feel grateful, we feel a compelling desire to help other people. Perhaps that’s why “thanks” and “giving” so often go together. At least it did for two neighbors of over 50 years. Joy and Dixie lived across the street from […]
On July 10, 1940, German bombers and fighter planes filled the skies above England, launching brutal air attacks that would last through October. The Netherlands, Belgium, and France had already fallen, and the German war machine now aimed at Britain, with the intent to cripple the country and break the spirit of the British people […]
If we are open and willing to learn, life has a way of teaching us. We learn what is most important, where we should focus our energies, how we should live. We won’t get everything right—at least, not the first time—but we can grow in wisdom and experience over our life’s course. At the age […]
A young soldier, with tears in his eyes, hugs his wife and child and boards a transport plane, bound for foreign conflict. It is a scene we have witnessed many times through the years, as men and women of the military leave loved ones behind and bravely go to play their part in the fight […]
A farmer’s son once watched with great compassion as a tiny chick stirred within its shell. Slowly the bird made a small crack in the egg, its tiny beak just poking through. And then, weary from its efforts, the bird paused to rest. Thinking he would help, the young boy pried open the shell with […]
Things are not always as they appear. It’s easy to make assumptions, only to find out that our quick judgment is not at all accurate. A grandmother experienced this recently when she took her two teenage granddaughters to a choir concert. She wanted so much for her granddaughters to feel the peace and joy of […]
The late Alex Haley, author of the novel Roots, kept on the wall of his office a picture of a turtle sitting on a fence. To him, the image held a powerful lesson. He explained, “If you see a turtle on top of a fence post, you know he had some help.” Haley continued, “Any […]
Make firm plans and be flexible.” This good advice from a father to his children may, at first, seem contradictory. Everybody needs goals, purpose, and direction—and the more specific the better. But because life is continually changing and few things go exactly as planned, we have to be flexible and make adjustments along the way. […]
Life is a study in forgiveness. No one gets through life without needing to forgive. And no one escapes the need to be forgiven. Perhaps the central test of character, forgiveness brings out the best in us. It leads us beyond our own pain and suffering and helps us feel God’s love. Ironically, we help […]
During the difficult days of World War II, enrollment at universities in the United States had fallen so much that many venerable schools were on the verge of bankruptcy. Notre Dame was one of those universities. With so many young people going off to war, the school was left with few students and even fewer […]