I’ll leave the in-depth analysis of the midterm election tsunami to others who are smarter than I am. I’ll leave the gracious-in-victory expressions to others with better diplomatic skills. We reunited as a nation after the Civil War; surely we…
Realistic thoughts on hope
I am an election nerd. I love studying polls and following the ins and outs of campaign trail news. Being just such an election nerd has put me in the vicinity of hope over the last few months. That’s because…
On living hopefully in a despairing, destitute world
Immediately after the dastardly terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, I sat at a computer screen — in the secretary’s office of Austin Heights Baptist Church in Nacogdoches, Texas, far from home — for the better part of a day…
’Round midnight
It is midnight. Not the kind of midnight measured by clocks. The kind that settles into your bones. The kind that lingers long after the sun has risen. We all know this midnight. It is the midnight of the marriage…
Despair is attractive, but hope looks better
I don’t know about everyone else, but some days I am really challenged by trying to hang on to hope. There are days when despair is attractive. For instance, I recently was doing a bit of searching for something to…
Despair is not a choice
Many of us who care and are paying attention to the current reign of evil and terror in America are finding it hard to stay on the path of hope. When we see little children being used as pawns by…
What ‘hope’ has represented in Christian history – and what it might mean now
Pope Leo XIV closed the door at St. Peter’s Basilica on Jan. 6, 2026, just days into the new year. The act formally brought the Vatican’s Holy Year 2025 – designated as “Pilgrims of Hope” – to an end.
For 2026, There’s a Better Way to Be Hopeful
As we look ahead to the new year, hope seems to be in short supply. Recent surveys have found that sizable majorities of Americans believed the United States was on track to become economically weaker and more politically divided, nearly 80 percent did…
It’s always darkest before it goes pitch black; choose hope anyway
If you have someone on your Christmas list who seems too hopeful — who still uses a paper calendar — you might consider a demotivational calendar. On one such 2026 calendar — and you can Google a disappointing number of…
Upside Down Advent: Despair versus hope
Here we are at Christmastime again, and ‘tis the season to be jolly. Right? Except what if you’re not feeling that jolly? Is that even allowed? Will you be consigned to binge watch Hallmark Christmas movies? If ever there was…
How I found hope for today in a coffee shop
I had just left my corporate job — no backup plan, no security blanket, no savings plan that made sense on paper. Just a tug in my spirit I couldn’t ignore any longer. I was tired of running from God’s…
The times are never so bad
Saint Thomas More wrote in his own tumultuous time, “The times are never so bad but that a good man can live in them.” We need to live in such confidence and hope: The times are never so bad but…