Minus 37 with the wind chill factor. That one hour school delay affording the buses an extra hour off for idling- it should have been the ticket, really. There I was. Bleary-eyed from a night of restless sleep- worried over deadlines to come, papers to write, classes to teach and examinations to prepare for, jarred …
There is a problem with the church today- a problem that runs deep and wide and long. It’s created a chasm actually and an exodus. It’s a problem sourced by a history of church practices and traditions that serve to verify its authenticity as real and overt. It’s a problem all right. And that problem …
Black, velvet sky melts into night-time darkness. It’s something below freezing. And I think to myself, ‘here we go again’. It’s another ‘up-too-late’ week-night, and I find myself driving snow-dusted roads riddled with pot-holes. This is becoming a habit I wish I could break; that is, the custom of making lesson plans in a creepy …
What if we truly heard the message people spoke instead of listening for what we think they are saying? What if we stopped trying to project onto other people the ideas we have formed about them and instead listened intently to the messages they send us and let those messages simply be our guide? I …
What the world needs now is truth-tellers. Shamelessly spreading the word- that the new normal is flawed, imperfect living done in the real world. Transparent style. What the world needs now is empathy. Compassion spreaders intent on understanding people and their complicated stories. Covering the world with a blanket of caring kindness. So that compassion …
Blues turn to pinks and greys as we arrive home at dusk to four brave soldiers. The Fearless Foursome, courageously holding down the fort. Waiting the seasoned warriors’ return. Valiantly. And awaiting the report from the front lines. Ready to move into position upon the signal. Ready to pull things together to make the plan …
I was dreading it. One more obligation. One more thing to do. And although I believe the mantra ‘we can do hard things’, there are times when I just want an easy thing. One.easy.thing. Amidst all the hard things in life. All those things that pull me eight ways to Sunday. And as I sat …
We sit across from one another in a cramped booth. She talks, I lean in. There is urgency in casual lunch meetings of this nature. And we both know that all too soon, time will snatch away these precious moments. And the body language says it all. Urgent!! This is important!! Don’t interrupt. That is, …
Introvert: a quiet, contemplative person who prefers solitude to socializing, who enjoys time spent in thought, who tends to express themselves better after careful consideration, who prefers work in isolation to working in groups. And to think, that half the world’s population is in this category of people. Isn’t it time the Church started to …
I’ve been here before: in that place where darkness settles overhead, hovering in ominous, cloud-like presence. Feeling the weight of it all. Wondering if I will ever be free from the burden of guilt, the oppression. Guilt. It covers. Blinds. Leaves me groping in the dark for some comforting safe harbor. That is the burden …
I guess you could say that Florida is in the Bible belt. And for sure you could say that I am in the middle of a Christian retirement community, as I am travelling with my parents. (And they are attending a Christian conference at a mid-sized Christian conference and Resort Center here in north-western Florida.) …
Is it possible to live life without regrets? To ‘do it up right’? To both live and finish life with a feeling of satisfaction, with a sense of accomplishment and pride that one has given one’s best? And lived one’s life to the fullest of potential? And if so, how is this done? If not …
