On December the US Civil War raged Union and Confederate troops camped seven hundred yards apart on opposing sides of Tennessee rsquo s Stones River As they warmed themselves around campfires Union soldiers picked up their fiddles and harmonicas and began playing ldquo Yankee Doodle rdquo In reply the Confederate soldiers offered ldquo Dixie rdquo Remarkably both sides joined for a finale playing ldquo Home Sweet Home rdquo in unison Sworn enemies shared music in the dark night glimmers of an unimagined peace The melodic truce was short-lived The next morning they put down their fiddles and picked up their [... more]

My wife Miska has a necklace and hoop earrings from Ethiopia Their elegant simplicity reveals genuine artistry What rsquo s most astounding about these pieces however is their story Due to decades of fierce conflict and a civil war that rages on Ethiopia rsquo s geography is littered with spent artillery shells and cartridges As an act of hope Ethiopians scour the torched earth cleaning up the scraps And artisans craft jewelry out of what remains of the shells and cartridges When I heard this story I heard echoes of Micah boldly declaring God rsquo s promise One day the [... more]

Most young Samoan boys receive a tattoo signaling their responsibility to their people and their chief Naturally then the marks cover the arms of the Samoan men rsquo s rugby team members Traveling to Japan where tattoos can carry negative connotations the teammates realized their symbols presented a problem for their hosts In a generous act of friendship the Samoans wore skin-colored sleeves covering the designs ldquo We rsquo re respectful and mindful to the Japanese way rdquo the team captain explained ldquo We rsquo ll be making sure that what we rsquo re showing will be okay rdquo In [... more]