In 2009-10 we lived in the Netherlands. The Dutch do lots of things better than we do, including bike paths, reclaiming land from the sea,

Spontaneity is not one of my gifts. My family might actually think that’s a significant understatement. A few years ago when I chose the word

Sometimes I have a hard time knowing how to attend to the largest crisis before me because of any number of tiny crises holding my

In the summer of 1964, I had turned nine years old. My mom was sick and dying, and my dad was pastor of First Reformed

One of my summer jobs in college was researching and compiling hymn stories – the history of composers, authors, tunes, and circumstances, for Hymnary.org. I

Be nice. Play nice. Nice people. Nice time. “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” Nice clothes. Nice company.

For the past fifteen years I have enjoyed the good fortune of living on Lake Michigan’s eastern shore, in the home where my children formed

On the floor for the U.S. Senate, debating a bill to fund education for black Americans, Senator Jefferson Davis explained “this government was not founded

I keep flowers in vases around my house for way too long. Long past their prime. Long after they have started to wither and fade.