“Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world” (John Milton).

Yesterday was a “transcendent moment of awe” for our family as we welcomed Wesley Noah Denison into the world. Our lives are changed forever by this baby boy. He will never remember the day of his birth, but we will never forget it.

Wesley’s parents are our younger son, Craig, and his wife, Rachel. Craig directs brand strategy for our ministry and writes First15, our daily devotional. Rachel writes for their website, Craig + Rachel Denison, and for http://www.christianparenting.org. Both are remarkable musicians and worship leaders. And both love Jesus as passionately and intimately as anyone I have ever known.

Today they can say with Hannah, “For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to him” (1 Samuel 2:27). From the moment we knew of Wesley’s conception, our family has prayed diligently for him. Today we are rejoicing in the miracle of his birth with hearts overflowing with gratitude to God.

Carl Sandburg was right: “A baby is God’s opinion that life should go on.”

God did not make this little boy because the world needed another human to join the 7.4 billion of us already here. The Lord made Wesley because he wanted another child he could love. As much as we already love this baby, his heavenly Father loves him more. In fact, he loves Wesley as much as he loves his own Son (John 17:26).

We cannot imagine the world Wesley will know. The technological advances, the cultural changes, the geopolitical shifts ahead are all unseen to us and to him. As John F. Kennedy noted, “Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see.”

Continue reading Denison Forum – WELCOMING OUR GRANDSON INTO THE WORLD      →

This morning’s ABC News headline caught my eye: “Dog Swims Over 6 Miles to Reunite With Family After Falling Off Boat in Lake Michigan.” The ten-month-old puppy fell overboard, swam to shore, then walked over twelve miles to a campground where she was reunited with her family the next day.

Now consider another story of resilience. Humans have long aspired to go to Mars, but six months of travel and life in claustrophobic conditions make the psychological part of the expedition as daunting as the physical. ICE environments (isolated, confined, and extreme) have long challenged explorers.

That’s why six astronauts spent twelve months in isolation on a simulated Martian plain. The three-woman, three-man crew lived in a dome-shaped habitat on a lava plain on the flank of Mauna Loa in Hawaii. They worked in conditions as close to Martian as science could make them. And they proved that humans are often as resilient as we need to be.

To many Christians, our culture feels more Martian by the day. As a recent article noted, “Many conservative Christians just don’t feel welcome in their own country. They say they are either mocked or erased in popular culture.” One pastor asked, “When was the last time you saw an evangelical or conservative Christian character portrayed positively on TV?”

But God promises, “In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Romans 8:37). Scripture enjoins us: “Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9).

Rather than viewing negative cultural shifts as cause for retreat, let’s use them to strengthen our commitment to serving Jesus. In this context, consider David Brooks’s latest column in The New York Times. In his view, personal strength is a product of personal significance.

Continue reading Denison Forum – TWO AMAZING STORIES OF RESILIENCE     →