Our city’s small airport recently added direct flights to two vacation hotspots in Florida. It’s a big deal here in Springfield, being able to fly straight to Orlando or Tampa in a couple of hours. How perfect, I thought as I booked the flight that would take me to a work conference. What I hadn’t […]
Meredith Flynn
Signs of our times
It took a harshly worded bumper sticker to remind me that my children can read now. Four years ago, during the last contentious election cycle, we could blissfully drive by all the stickers and campaign signs without giving them a second thought. Now, though, signs calling out one candidate in favor of another raise questions—difficult […]
War and Christmas
A few years ago on Christmas Eve, I heard the song “This is War” by Dustin Kensrue. The lyrics highlight Jesus as warrior, come to earth to do battle with sin and death. No moonlit manger scene here, just the cosmic war for the souls of men and women. I get it, I thought when […]
A prayer of thanks
(Editor’s note: For decades, Chicago Tribune columnist Joan Beck memorialized each year with a poetic column of thanksgiving. The verses below are our attempt to follow her example and remember the blessings of 2023.) As we gather together to count the Lord’s blessings, 403 years after the first Thanksgiving Day, we wonder at the beauty […]
Mastering a new rhythm
At our 6-year-old’s first drum lesson, her teacher asked how long she’d wanted to play percussion. “I was born wanting to,” Molly replied, as I mentally scribbled down the story we’ll tell when she wins her first Grammy. Drums are fun to play but also frustrating, her teacher warned her. Finding the rhythm can be […]
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