I’m fascinated by the process of making things: making art, making bread, making a guitar or a violin. You name it, and I’m probably curious about how it came into being. Part of that is simply an interest with how things work and, even more, where they came from. Part of it is a fascination with the creative process. And part of it – maybe the biggest part – is that I’m interested not simply in the mechanics – the how – of making something, but in the who – that is, who has brought this thing into being, why, and what does it mean to them. All of this is to say that whenever I come across a story or video about how people...

Attitude is everything. You’ve probably heard that from teachers, coaches, and parents on numerous occasions over the years. But I’m still going to say it once more. Attitude is everything…because attitude is finally about perspective and vision. Your attitude – and in particular how you decide to frame situations – largely determines what you see and thereby how you might respond. The following brief video — less than 3 minutes — offers a great example of this axiom in action by inviting us to confront challenges differently. One way – the usual way – to approach challenges is to start by defining them as problems....

When most of us hear the name Chernobyl, we immediately think of nuclear catastrophe, uncontrolled outpourings of radiation, and mass exodus. Yet when some people hear that name, they think of something different – they think of home. In this fascinating eight-minute TED Talk, Holly Morris tells the story of a community of around 200 persons, mostly elderly women, who elected to stay in Chernobyl and have lived there the last 27 years. Why stay there when it is considered one of the most hazardous places on earth? Because it’s home. It’s the place they were raised and in turn raised their children. It’s the place their parents and...

Several years ago I wrote a short article for pastors on how to preach after a natural disaster – on that occasion it was the earthquake in Haiti – that came to mind after hearing the news of the devastation wrought in the Philippines by the typhoon that has just passed through there. It struck me that several elements of that piece might be more widely applicable, and so I’ve adapted it for this post. I think it’s important to stress that in the face of tragedy we are invited as Christians to be honest; this in at least two ways. First, the human tragedy and wreckage that natural disasters leave in their wake never fail to stun...