From Awe to Offering 10/4/2026 Psalm 95:6“O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker.” In recent weeks, we have followed a thread through several virtues. We began with awe and wonder: those moments when we recognize that reality is larger, deeper, and more mysterious than our routines allow us to see. Then we spoke of curiosity, the love that keeps asking and refuses to close the book on God’s mystery too soon. As Proverbs 25:2 says, “

Love Made Visible September 27, 2026 Psalm 27:4 “One thing I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: to live in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple.” There is one sight that stops me every time. A sky closed over with cloud, gray and heavy, and then a break opens in it, and the sunrays come pouring down through the gap in long slanting columns you can almost see the edges of. I never plan my reacti

Love that Keeps Asking Proverbs 25:2 “It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out.” This verse is spoken by Solomon, who knew something about this long before anthills and space telescopes came along to illustrate it. God hides things, Solomon says, not to shut us out, but as a kind of gift, a door left standing open, an invitation to come looking. I don’t know if you’ve ever crouched down next to a child at an anthill. If you

9/13/2026 Psalm 8:3–4 “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are humans that you are mindful of them", mortals that you care for them?” Over the past two years, we have explored many virtues: love, kindness, humility, courage, patience, gratitude, attentiveness, peace, mercy, justice, trust, and more. I have described virtues as expressions of God’s love, refractions of divine love, channels through whi

The Labor of Love: Becoming the Wind Beneath Another’s Wings 9/9/2026 Hebrews 6:10: “God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.” Tomorrow is Labor Day, a holiday set aside to recognize the social and economic contributions of working people. First celebrated in 1882 and made a federal holiday in 1894, it grew out of a time when workers sought safer conditions, fairer treatment, a

Love That Tends What Is Given August 30, 2026 Psalm 24:1 “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.” A virtue is a good and life-giving quality of character that becomes visible in how we think, choose, speak, and act. I speak of virtues as enduring qualities through which God’s love takes form in us and flows into the world. Stewardship is one of those qualities. It is God’s love expressed as faithful, grateful, and wise care for w

8/23/2026 Isaiah 58:12 “You shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in.” There is a difference between stopping a fire and rebuilding a home. Stopping the fire matters. You call for help, get people out, protect those in danger, and contain the damage. But when the fire is out, the work is not finished. There is still ash. Windows are broken. Belongings are lost. Rooms are no longer livable. People need shelter, comfort, and a future.

Love That Refuses to Let Lies Have the Last Word 8/16/2026 Vindication is the upholding of truth that clears the wrongly blamed and helps set right what was wrong. In the Psalms, it is a prayer that God will judge rightly, defend the innocent, expose falsehood, and bring what is hidden into the light. That makes vindication a challenging virtue. It lies close to vengeance, and the two are easily confused. When we have been wounded, falsely accused, overlooked, or betrayed, we