1. LGBTQ+ population grows, especially among Gen Z: Aaron Earls reports, “When Gallup first measured LGBTQ+ identification in the U.S., 3.5% claimed a non-straight label in 2012. By 2020, 5.6% identified as such. That jumped to 7.1% in 2021 and has increased incrementally since then—7.2% in 2022 and 7.6% in 2023.”

2. Can we forgive when the offender doesn’t repent? Mike Wittmer’s response is nuanced and wise, “Forgiveness is excruciating. Who wants to pardon the perpetrator who maliciously wounded us? Forgiveness can also be confusing. What should we do when the person who wronged us doesn’t repent? He doesn’t own what he did, say he’s sorry, and mean it. What then?”

3. How to not exasperate your children: Hannah Carmichael offers sage counsel, “When we resort to guilt-tripping to shape our child’s behavior, we replace the gospel story of grace with a worldview of entitlement.”

4. Body matters in Genesis: Andrew Blunt reflects, “In Genesis 1, the first thing we are told about humans is that we are created in the image of God. The second is that we are created male and female (Genesis 1:27). What does it mean to be male or female? They are terms that speak of bodily forms – the way our bodies are structured to play one of two roles in reproduction. This is why the statement that we are created male and female is immediately followed by the command to ‘be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth’ (Genesis 1:28). Male and female mean nothing apart from bodies.”

5. America’s best mountain towns: I love mountain towns. Thrillist’s list is fun to read and includes a few of my favorites (Estes Park and Homer) but misses on another one of my favorites (Sedona). What are your favorite mountain towns?

Photo by Norbu GYACHUNG on Unsplash