It’s the midpoint of the semester here at Luther Seminary. Which means it’s been a week of midterms, candidacy interviews for second-year students, approval interviews for seniors, and more. There is, at this point of the semester, often a discernible weariness you can detect on the faces of students and faculty alike. For me, it’s also the midpoint of my regular commute from our new home near Philly to the Twin Cities. Quite frankly, that commute has gone as well as I could possibly have hoped – few delayed flights, just enough time to get work done, and a cleverly arranged schedule (thank you, Office of the Registrar!) that means...

Have you ever wondered why most news headlines are dire? Or why almost all news shows lead with tragedies? Or why so much of our idle conversation turns toward the difficult and dour rather than the hopeful and happy? I know I have, and I learned why in the following TedTalk by tech guru Peter Diamandis. We are by nature, he argues, programmed to pay attention to threats. While this made evolutionary sense at an earlier point in history when our species was beset by dangers, today it can cloud our view of the world so that we miss the incredible abundance and potential that surrounds us. Diamandis founded and now runs the X Prize, which...