Posts by Jeff Minick

Is there a way to arrive fairly at a verdict of these figures past and present? 

Here are seven simple actions in that “make your bed” vein that will brighten the corner where you are and make the world a better place. 

Like many another poet, Bryant raises a red flag in both poems, a warning that we have created an intelligence we believe we can control, but which may easily become our master. 

Death and punctuation share a common function. Both are endings, one marking a completed sentence, the other a completed life.

These four attributes help explain why all of Shackleton’s crew survived their war with nature. These same attributes can strengthen individuals and families, and make for happier lives.   

How far down this rabbit hole of crudity will America fall? Is there a bottom? And how long can a culture stand on a foundation made of mud and swamp water?

Forgiveness is chivalry of the soul in action. 

In this 250th anniversary year of America’s founding, let’s light the candles on that birthday cake by teaching our young people the real history of their country and then keeping them lit once the party is over.   

As patriots and lovers of liberty, we are called to plead the cause of virtue.  

For all liberty-loving Americans, from Alabama to Maine, from South Carolina to Oregon, “Sic Semper Tyrannis” is the perfect battle cry in this 250th anniversary year of the Declaration of Independence as we fight the unending war against overreaching and rapacious government.

Here are three tests we should bring to the daily news.

Maybe the sharply rising numbers of people seeking therapy over the last two decades has less to do with individual illness and much to do with the breakdown of our human need for conversation, connection, and relationship.

Are we too smart for our own good? When we lack common sense and humility, the answer will most likely be yes.

The homeschool “socialization” critique misses the point: children are always socialized, and the real question is whether parents will intentionally guide that process toward healthy values and good influences.

Beyond that screen there’s a living, breathing reality show of entertainment, diversion, and knowledge waiting just for you.  

In this new year, let’s aim for generosity in our dialogues and interactions with others.

“Tomorrow is another day” can be both a positive and a negative approach to life, depending on how we use it.

Unlike idealism or ideology, this tragic vision of life and the human condition has a proven track record as a philosophy for living and might personally benefit each of us. 

My New Year’s wish for everyone – my family, friends, and you my readers – is that your home is or becomes a place you treasure, an oasis providing refuge, rest, comfort, and freedom, a kingdom all your own.

Why were so many women opposed to opening the franchise to their sex? 

Though the digital age is rapidly transforming how we live, work, and even think, we can endow our young with the gifts found in reading and comprehending books: the power of concentration, intellectual depth, character development, and wisdom.

According to their teachers, some students lack the technical skills necessary for tackling a long or difficult text – a weak vocabulary, for instance, or the inability to track long sentences or untangle complicated arguments. 

“How lucky we are, how very lucky we are, to live in the great country, to be Americans—Americans all.” Studying our past will only deepen that gratitude.

Down through history, mystics, poets, and saints have told us again and again of the beauty and wonder to be found in the nitty-gritty of everyday reality if we have only the eyes to see and the ears to hear. 

Kindness is contagious. We’re not just giving a gift, however large or small, to one or two people when we’re kindhearted. They’re likely to pay it forward to others as well. 

With a little practice this Advent season, we can “make something beautiful again.”      

There is a liberator who owns a set of bolt cutters that can break any chain made. Psalm 107:14 declares, “He brought them out of darkness and gloom, and broke their bonds asunder.”