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Reflections

The untold and often difficult human stories, stark, optimistic, inspiring.

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A New England Mother’s Thoughts on Memorial Day: “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their … half-gaiters?” What?!

"Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes!" is more dramatic and poetic than "Don't fire until you see the whites of their half-gaiters!" But the latter is the historically accurate version.

By Kristen Star Borchers

The air was thick with gunpowder and fear as I crouched behind the rough earthen walls we’d scrambled to build atop Breed’s Hill in these last hours of June 17, 1775, and the British were coming — red coats glinting like blood in the summer sun. General Israel Putnam had ridden among us earlier, urging…

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A New England Mother’s Thoughts on Memorial Day: “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their … half-gaiters?” What?! "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes!" is more dramatic and poetic than "Don't fire until you see the whites of their half-gaiters!" But the latter is the historically accurate version.
A New England Mother’s Thoughts on Memorial Day: “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their … half-gaiters?” What?!

"Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes!" is more dramatic and poetic than "Don't fire until you see the whites of their half-gaiters!" But the latter is the historically accurate version.

The air was thick with gunpowder and fear as I crouched behind the rough earthen walls we’d scrambled to build atop Breed’s Hill in these last hours...

I was in Rome the day the 2025 Papal Conclave convened. It raised thoughts of the “body of Christ.” Where Catholics are one piece of a global faith puzzle, who and what does God truly care about? These questions are not about individual grace or redemption. God says He will gather all His faithful children to Himself. I'm certain that He cares in that way, but ... what else does He care about?
I was in Rome the day the 2025 Papal Conclave convened. It raised thoughts of the “body of Christ.” Where Catholics are one piece of a global faith puzzle, who and what does God truly care about?

These questions are not about individual grace or redemption. God says He will gather all His faithful children to Himself. I'm certain that He cares in that way, but ... what else does He care about?

Over my left shoulder is where Cardinal Robert Prevost showed himself to the world as the new pope, Leo XIV, less than 24 hours after this image was...

Faith Has Been the Primary Driver of Every Person’s Choices Throughout the Ages | It is no Different in the Present Age | Always, the Difference is in What or Whom Such Faith is Placed C.S. Lewis's "Mere Christianity" is still — and perhaps even more — relevant in this divided and increasingly secular era as a rational starting point for exploration of faith, of all kinds.
Faith Has Been the Primary Driver of Every Person’s Choices Throughout the Ages | It is no Different in the Present Age | Always, the Difference is in What or Whom Such Faith is Placed

C.S. Lewis's "Mere Christianity" is still — and perhaps even more — relevant in this divided and increasingly secular era as a rational starting point for exploration of faith, of all kinds.

Introduction: From Christian cathedral, to mosque, to museum, and now again, a mosque. Originally built in the 4th century AD, the Hagia Sophia in...

Vacuum Sealed
Vacuum Sealed

NASA’S VOYAGER SPACECRAFT, launched nearly a half century ago (1977), is still heading away from Earth, at a rate of 38,000 miles per hour. By the...