To start, I pose this question: do you want to be extraordinary? Insert your own definition — a feat worth loads of admiration, a fancy degree, a feign humble “I’d like to thank God” while accepting a prestigious award. Maybe your definition is broader, simpler. An “A” in Organic Chemistry, winning the affections of that […]
Living Isn’t Dying: The Biblical Definition of Life
The 1994 Disney cartoon, The Lion King, opens with a sunrise silhouetting a desolate savannah. The iconic music swells to the forefront of the audience’s attention as Tim Rice’s lyrics resound, “It’s the circle of life! And it moves us all. Through despair and hope…through faith and love” [1]. The movie goes on to explore […]
Faith Through Affliction: Navigating Chronic Illness and Redefining Success
The transition to adulthood involves monumental steps toward personal growth, independence, and success. If college students were asked to define success, they would likely say something along the lines of achieving goals, attaining financial freedom, and creating happiness. Unsurprisingly, Merriam Webster defines success as “a favorable or desirable outcome; the attainment of wealth, favor, or […]
The Weary Giving Tree: What Does a Teacher Owe to This World?
Giving, and giving, and giving “And the tree was happy…..” The children’s book The Giving Tree follows the relationship between a little boy and a tree as the little boy goes through his life. From giving her shade and apples, to eventually giving all of her wood, the tree gives and gives and is left […]
A Family Kindled by Faith
Meltdown in the Home In a world with with access to so many internet resources, YouTube channels, and philosophies that support the idea that we can develop a properly virtuous person simply through either self-experience or nature such as those of Aristotle or Jean-Jacques Rousseau, many people have come to believe that the problem of […]
Why Do We Make Friends?: The Lasting Gain of True Friendship
Humans innately crave social interaction. We form relationships with others from a young age, usually starting with our parents, grandparents, and other immediate family. By shaping our physical and emotional development, these relationships also shape our conception of the world. On a surface level, primary caregivers support children’s growth through physical protection from external hazards. […]