life. faithful.

Well, apparently you've made it. It hasn't been the ending you expected--you were unceremoniously told that because of circumstances outside your control, if you were in good standing as of the end of the third 9-weeks, you're considered a graduate. There are a lot of unknowns right now--about prom and graduation and cap & gown pictures--and a lot of things that I'm sure tempt you to feel sorry for yourself. So now, you have the first choice of your official "adult" life. You can feel sorry for yourself and focus on all the things you might be missing out on, or you can keep moving forward. I've watched you since middle school (most of you, anyway). In 8th grade, most of you were uncomfortable in your own skin. You were struggling to figure out where you fit in the world of high school, a time of decisions like nothing you'd faced before that. I watched you try on personas like they were hats--class clown? flirt? brainiac? jock? thug?--and was...

So...how's life? If you turn on the t.v. or computer (and who doesn't right now?), you gt the idea that the whole world is falling apart and out of control. One day last week, I could feel the anxiety. My heart rate, which is naturally fast already, was racing. My blood pressure was up. It felt like I was all tied up in knots with a million questions racing through my mind: What's the best way to make sure our food lasts as long as possible? How do we keep the kids in some sort of "school" mindset? Am I getting all my work done without my trusty whiteboard (my absolute favorite thing about my office--yes, I'm that kind of nerd) there to show me my to-do list? Where would be the best place to plant a garden? Even if this crazy time comes to an end soon and things get back to "normal", it's helped me realize just how important it is for us to make our farm self-sustaining for the future. What are the farm projects we need to do and have the ...

Fear is a dangerous thing--partly because it's so sneaky. It creeps in through the weak spots and quickly spreads; wrapping its tendrils around everything and choking out all rational thought. So often, we get sucked into the hysteria and the chaos around us and the fear spreads. Right now, fear and hysteria are spreading like wildfires. The media is feed our fears--and feeding off of our fears. As a result, fear is becoming so widespread that it's taking over every aspect of life. People aren't making rational decisions (stocking up on toilet paper for an overwhelmingly mild respiratory virus?). College athletes who have realized life-long dreams of making it to the national tournament are now being told they won't be playing. Entire schools, cities, and countries are going into lockdown. So what are we supposed to do? In the face of such widespread panic, how are followers of Christ supposed to react? First, let me say that the science available on this virus ...