I have been doing taxes this week. Lots. As an American citizen living abroad, I need to submit a tax return to the U.S. as well as to my country of residence. As a business owner, I also need to submit returns for my business to both countries. My Norwegian taxes can be done fairly quickly. They can be filed online in a fairly straightforward process, where most of the information is already filled in. My American taxes are another story. This year's return was more than 40 pages, which cost me about $9 in postage.

The following is an excerpt from my forthcoming book, The Call of the Child.

Jesus, in what is often called The Great Commission, called us to make disciples of all nations. That is frequently interpreted to mean that we should disciple some people from every nation. Which is true. But I believe it also means that each of us should live in such a way that we disciple the nation in which we live.

We have three adult children, and we are quite proud of them. It is a pleasure to see how, each in their own way, they reflect the values which were a part of their upbringing.

It's a little bit like James 4:5, which says that God longs for his Spirit to dwell in his children. It's not just that God wants us to be saved and to be filled with his Spirit. It also brings him pleasure when our thinking reflects his Wisdom.

Thirty-four years ago today, I found myself wandering the streets of Bergen, Norway. In those days, it was my job to travel to cold and dark places where I would spend hours watching the Aurora Borealis. I had just spent four weeks, mostly alone, at the Northern Lights Station near Longyearbyen, Svalbard—about 600 miles north of Norway.

I grew up at the tail end of the Baby Boom. In school we learned foundational American principles such as being endowed with inalienable rights, including life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We learned about the rights accorded to us by that very important part of the US Constitution, the Bill of Rights.

In conversation with a friend about my forthcoming book, he mentioned something that really got me thinking. He said:

For 30 years it has been a rights oriented theology from the majority of the churches, and when Christians embrace rights as dogma, the secular community will also, with horrific consequences.

The other day, a friend was telling me about his frustration with some policy decisions that his government had made. Policy that would likely lead to ungodly results. And in that context, he expressed the need to fight against the direction his government is taking.

That might be a good thing. But I believe it depends a lot on what is meant by fighting...

Paul wrote:

King David was described by God as "A man after my own heart." (Acts 13:22, referring to 1 Sam 13:14). That is obviously a good thing. But what does it mean?

At the end of time, in C.S. Lewis's fantasy world of Narnia, a tragic thing happens. Actually, there are many tragedies in that story (The Last Battle), but this one is different.

My favorite epic tale is J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. I have read it several times, and even read the whole of it aloud (twice) to my children. It is a well-crafted tale of the conflict between good and evil; of power, corruption, valor and honor.