Carol decided to try an experiment. Several of her friends at work were giving up things for Lent, and she decided to join them (even though her church didn’t practice Lent). To her husband’s surprise, she gave up shopping. Once a week she did grocery shopping for her family but never bought anything for herself for 40 days …
In the late 1980s, as Cold War tensions between East and West were beginning to thaw, thousands of German-speaking Soviet citizens emigrated from Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Kirgiz and Siberia to West Germany, where the German government welcomed them and granted immediate status as German citizens …
Last July, I experienced an a-ha moment while attending the Archives Leadership Institute at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, an event that brings together 25 midcareer archivists from a wide variety of settings …
What does a bestselling murder mystery series from Sweden have to teach us about the importance of journalism to a democratic society? Quite a bit …
Studying the Bible is one of the most important things a Christian can do. But from the reports I hear around the church, we’re struggling to maintain this basic Christian discipline …
Students squeeze through the sanctuary doors following convocation, rushing down the hall like a school of giant fish. A clump has already formed around the table near the door, with amoeba-like lines reaching out in all directions as students clamber to sign the petition …
Senior prank consultation is an interesting element of my job. While it is not listed in my job description, students come to me each year to share their ideas, using me as a sounding board, either forgetting that I’m on the school faculty or thinking it wise to test the idea with someone before trying to pull it off …
I have been thinking about perfect things lately. Given my tendency toward pondering the imperfect—a side effect of a lifelong relationship with depression—I figured I’d better go with it and so heeded the call to contemplate perfection and to seek it wherever it may be found …
