Column Title: Exile and the Ache for Home June 2026 Entry: “Places, Spaces, and Refugees” By Brandon Knight, PhD, William Carey University Column Description: Have you ever felt disconnected? What if such moments of disconnect point to a greater reality? A lost memory of unity with creation only hinted through nostalgia. Often even as we experience nature and beauty, or a …
Thursday, June 25 Workshop, Teaching Intercultural Communication, Still Time to Register
Lead Presenters/Facilitators: L. Ripley Smith (Bethel University, St. Paul); Lily A. Arasaratnam-Smith (Alphacrucis University College, Australia) Date/Time: Thursday, June 25, 2026| 3:00 pm – 6:30 pm EDT REGISTER HERE Description: Teaching intercultural communication at Christian universities has become both necessary and complicated by increasingly plural and polarized societies and student bodies. When faced with interacting with people from different cultural …
A Prayer for Speech Seasoned by Grace, by Thomas Becon, 16th Century
“Give unto me, O Lord, a watchful heart and a bridled tongue, that I neither speak foolishly, nor unadvisedly offend any of thy little ones. Let my words be seasoned with grace, framed in truth, and guided by thy Holy Spirit, that I may edify the hearers, comfort the weak, and glorify thy holy name. Keep me from idle talk, …
Quote of the Week, What Our Words Disclose, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, 19th Century
“A man’s words are a fair index of his soul.” —Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834 – 1892) Source: Charles Haddon Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, vol. 27 (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1881), 613. Reflection: How do my daily words reveal the true condition of my heart, and what might they be teaching others about the God I serve?
A Prayer for Speech Shaped by Charity, Saint Bonaventure, 13th Century
“Guide my tongue, O Lord, and set a watch upon my lips, that my speech may neither wound nor deceive. Purify my heart, that my words may proceed in charity and truth. Grant that I may speak wisely, restraining every impulse that leads to idle or harmful talk. Let my mouth be an instrument of Your praise, my counsel a …
Quote of the Week, Speaking What Is True, by Thomas Aquinas, 13th Century
“To speak the truth is a good act, for it is a declaration of that which is in one’s mind.” —Thomas Aquinas, (1225 – 1274) Source: Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, II–II, q.109, a.3. Reflection: Where might my speech today need to more faithfully reflect what is true both in my mind and before God?
A Prayer for Guarded and Faithful Speech, Thomas à Kempis, 15th Century
“Lord, give me prudence in dealing with my neighbor; keep me from unguarded speech. Let me not be moved by every word spoken, but grant that I may know how to hold my peace and speak only what is profitable. Make me faithful and sincere in all my words, and let my tongue be free from deceit. Strengthen me …
Quote of the Week, The Freedom of Truthful Speech, Girolamo Savonarola, 15th Century
“He who speaks truth is free, and he who lies is a slave.” —Girolamo Savonarola (1452–1498) Source: Girolamo Savonarola, Prediche sopra Amos e Zaccaria (Florence, 1496), 112. Reflection: Where does untruth subtly bind my speech, and what would freedom look like in those places?
A Prayer for Words that Edify, by Thomas Bacon, 16th Century
“O Lord, govern my tongue, that I speak not but that which is good, godly, and wholesome. Let no filthy communication proceed out of my mouth, but such as may edify my neighbor in all godliness. Make my words profitable, seasoned with grace, and acceptable unto all men, that I may stop the mouths of the ungodly and glorify thy …
Quote of the Week, The Discipline of Few Words, Hugh Latimer, 16th Century
“Let your words be few, but well placed.” — Hugh Latimer (c. 1487 – 1555), Sermons on the Card (1529), English Reformation preacher, known for his plain, piercing sermons on integrity and Christian witness Source: Latimer, Hugh. Sermons on the Card and Other Discourses. Edited by Edward Arber. London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1869, p. 25. Reflection: Where might I need …
