The Light of Advent

by | Dec 23, 2013 | Uncategorized

Jesus is the bright dawn of hope toward which we rise from nights of despair; the searchlight of justice, which leads us to peace; the candle of joy which even  the high winds of sorrow and gusts of grief cannot extinguish; and the blazing fire of love which...

Joy is Why We are Here

by | Dec 19, 2013 | Uncategorized

Many years ago, my family bought me a sweatshirt that pictured a grim and sour-looking man who stood, arms folded tightly against his chest, in a shadowy corner at a Christmas party.  Below the picture was this caption: “Mr. Bah-Humbug.”  It’s not a good...

Walking in Circles

by | Dec 12, 2013 | Uncategorized

I was hiking in the Pisgah National Forest on a trail which was new to me.  I had an old trail guide, and, after I had been walking for a long while, I realized that that map didn’t match the territory.  Markers on the trail were scarce, and they weren’t as...

The Habit of Thankfulness

by | Nov 27, 2013 | Uncategorized

When I was in elementary school, my dad worked as a salesman for a wholesale company that provided sundry items to mostly small town drugstores.  Occasionally he would take me on the road with him. One day, at a store in Hogansville, GA, an aging farmer came in;...

Saying Thanks

by | Nov 20, 2013 | Uncategorized

When we push aside distractions, allow our hearts to rest in the grace of silence, and fill our minds with memories of God’s goodness to us in the past, gratitude rises from deep within.    We remember that God embraces us in strong-tender love.   ...

Bread

by | Nov 10, 2013 | Uncategorized

Many years ago, when we were trying to sell our house, a realtor gave us a long list of small things we could do to improve the house’s appeal to potential buyers.  One tip was to bake bread before a showing.  “It makes a house smell like a home,” she...

The Stories Which Make Us

by | Oct 27, 2013 | Uncategorized

Though my children are now 31 and 29, I can still hear echoes in my mind and heart of one of the things they said to me over and over again: “Daddy, tell me a story.”  Even at the end of a long day—sometimes especially at the end of a long day—there was nothing...

The Other Side of Complexity

by | Oct 17, 2013 | Uncategorized

“I would not give a fig for the simplicity this side of complexity, but I would give my life for the simplicity on the other side of complexity.”  (Oliver Wendell Holmes) The other side of complexity is where we end-up after we have wrestled and...

Fully Alive

by | Oct 2, 2013 | Uncategorized

This summer, at a brief retreat along the Hudson River about an hour north of New York City, I rediscovered a forgotten prayer by Anselm of Canterbury, a 12th-Century guide to matters of the heart and spirit. The prayer begins:  O my God, teach my heart where and...

Who We Become Is What Matters Most

by | Sep 27, 2013 | Uncategorized

I believe that God’s will is about the kinds of people we are becoming.  The choices and decision we make—about where to live and where to work, about our relationships and responsibilities, and about how to use time, money, and talent—matter most of all because...