This summer, my husband, four children, and I moved from our colorful little farm on a Florida bayou closer into the bustle of town. Leaving the hum of sleepy cicadas, the stretch of snowy egrets over watery sunsets, and early mornings working in a big, old barn was tough to accept. But our oldest son…

There’s a land of fire. It’s a place of cutting rock, boiling mud, sulfuric stench, and otherworldly beauty. You may know it as part of America’s backyard. This astonishing location is called Yellowstone National Park. This year, Yellowstone is celebrating its 150th anniversary as the first national park in the United States. And while it’s…

“The establishment of our new Government seemed to be the last great experiment for promoting human happiness, by reasonable compact, in civil Society.” —George Washington, in a letter to Catharine Sawbridge Macaulay Graham, Jan. 9, 1790 We’re living in the Great Experiment. Established less than 250 years ago, the United States is founded on the revolutionary conviction that…

Once, my dad talked to me about the death of his father. “I’ve always known my dad had my back,” he said. “Even when he was so old that he needed me, I still had the sense that if anything really went wrong with the world, my father could save me. When he died, it…

I always wanted to be an artist. With the loving help of my parents, I worked to become one. After studying diligently in the United States, I moved to Europe for years in pursuit of realism at the highest levels. My mom supported me. We talked on the phone long distance almost every day. When…

This world is in a fight between good and evil. Man has been in the struggle since his beginning. Cultivating the clarity to discern between truth and falsehood is half the battle; human beings are given the opportunity to learn through experience and to choose wisely. As instinctively as a child fears the dark, mankind…

The world resounds with many voices and noises. Some voices are good. Some tunes ring with beauty and truth. Other sounds are irritating or discordant. Some words are reasonable and pure, while others are angry and erroneous. The words we use to form our thoughts reveal the heart. The human heart is also revealed in…

Years ago, an artist friend showed me lovely photographs of the Maldives. As we reviewed the serene images of remote seascapes and sky, he lamented the tragedy of global warming. With the highest point on the Maldive islands cresting at six feet above sea level, scientists in the 1980s began prophesying that global warming would…

The New Year offers an apt opportunity to reflect upon life and work. Life is full of refreshing cycles. Marked by a process of gradual growth and change, the movements of life can be beautiful. They are also purposeful. Whether you have celebrated many or few New Years, there is much to learn by persevering…

What does the Thanksgiving holiday bring to mind? If you said family, roast turkey, cranberry sauce, or pumpkin pie, that would likely strike a chord in the minds of most Americans. If asked about the true origin of Thanksgiving, however, the answer might be a matter of greater debate, mixed, mashed, and buttered-up with inaccurate…