Enter a search term below. If searching by episode number be sure to include the comma, for example 4,707
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 […]
What we think about others and ourselves has the power to shape our world. How often have we heard ourselves say things like “I’m not a morning person” or “I’m not very smart” or “That’s just the way I am”? If we believe our talents and personality will never change, then they probably never will. […]
It’s been ten years since 9/11. And yet we continue to tell stories of the children, parents, and families, airline passengers and air traffic controllers, the firemen and other first responders for they inspire and give us hope. But how do we tell the story of the rest of America—those who watched the images and […]
When Benjamin Franklin was a boy, he traded all his money for a friend’s whistle. And he enjoyed the whistle until he learned it was worth only a fraction of what he’d paid for it. Immediately the whistle lost all its charm, and Ben was greatly annoyed at having made such a foolish mistake. But […]
It’s remarkable what we can accomplish if we have courage, if we refuse to be afraid. Fear is a toxic feeling that can consume self-confidence, dampen hope, and keep us from doing our best or sometimes even trying at all. Courage, however, can bring out the best in us. It doesn’t mean we will always […]
Life, in this world, can be hard on anyone. We hear and see things that are discouraging, even disheartening, and at times we may feel dismayed about the state of the world and the condition of our own lives. Yes, life can be hard. But within us, deep down in our heart of hearts, resides […]
The simple scene is played out someplace every day: A teenage employee serves customers in a deli and ice cream shop with uncommon cheerfulness. She is happy to be there, pleasant, and friendly. She takes an order from a man and then returns a few minutes later with good food and even better good cheer. […]
A few hours after closing on his new home, Josh Ferrin noticed a tiny scrap of carpet hanging out from the attic in the garage and decided to investigate. He lifted the carpet and found a metal box filled with rolls of paper money: $45,000 cash in small bills. The previous owners of the home, […]
Many a sailor has been storm-tossed on a windy night in the midst of unfamiliar seas. Brave seafarers know that they must press forward. “Sail on! Sail on! Sail on and on!” they call to their crew. And so must we. When we are tossed and turned by life’s currents, we move forward, we carry […]
The story of the Mormon pioneers is a saga like no other in American history. Beginning in 1847, tens of thousands crossed the Great Plains and scaled the Rocky Mountains on a journey fraught with searing heat, cold winds, hunger, snow, and even buffalo stampedes. They wore out not only their shoes but their very […]
Life is full of noble causes and worthy goals. Because one cannot pursue all of them, it helps to remember that simply opening our hearts in love and kindness to others is what makes all the difference. It’s the primary pathway to healing, to happiness, to health. Harvard biologist and Nobel Prize winner George Wald […]
Those with a few more years of life can teach us much if we will listen and observe. They can teach us how to grow through losses instead of being defeated by them. They can teach us how to appreciate life’s simple gifts and daily pleasures, how to value people instead of things, how to […]
For generations, wise men and women have observed that “freedom is never free.” The price of freedom is hard work and sacrifice, faith and resolve, commitment to the principles of independence. And this is not a price we can pay just once. The bill comes due again with each successive generation. One hot summer day, […]
In 1803 President Thomas Jefferson bought the Louisiana Territory from France. With it came a small French fur-trading post, St. Louis. The next year, the Lewis and Clark expedition set out from that Mississippi River settlement for the Pacific Ocean, and a tradition was born. St. Louis became the gateway to the West, not just […]
When we hear the word investment, most of us think of investing our money in hopes that it will grow and yield a large return. Some of us feel lucky to have enough money to meet our daily basic needs, let alone to invest any. But in one way, we are all equally rich: We […]
In today’s hectic world, we often feel pressure to accomplish our many tasks as quickly and efficiently as possible. But it’s good to remember that the direction we are headed is often more important than how soon we get there. If an airline pilot makes an error of only one or two degrees in a […]
Recent research suggests that persistence and resilience are good predictors of longevity.1 Perseverance in the face of difficulties puts us on the road to happiness and well-being, and what keeps us on that road is a positive attitude. A young man learned this important lesson as a high school tennis player. He had worked hard […]
Scattered across the world are burial sites of those who have served well and even given their lives in defense of liberty and country. Whether they are found in a small hometown cemetery or a large military memorial, these graves serve as a reminder of the courage and commitment to duty of those who served […]