Ask most parents what they most hope for their child, and one of the immediate answers will be that we want our children to be happy. Sometimes that’s intensified, as in, “While I hope they find a good job and lead a good life, all I really want is for my child is happy.” That goal and desire, as Jennifer Senior explains, is so ingrained in current parenting culture that we don’t even question it. But maybe we should. Just as we were willing to ask whether happiness is a goal or a by-product, so also might we question what the primary role, responsibility and goal of parenting is. Because if you believe that...

I’m at a meeting of the Board of Lutheran World Relief. So I don’t have a lot of time to write, but I do have a plenty of time to be in awe; in fact, I find myself in awe almost all the time while I’m here. In awe of the faithfulness and effectiveness of this talented, dedicated, and diverse staff that has committed itself to Micah’s injunction to “do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God” (6:8); In awe of the reach of the organization as it makes a difference in the lives of people, literally, all over the world. In awe of the impact and responsiveness of LWR to emergency...