
When Life Gets In the Way
…one Sunday morning, the words “nor life” echoed through my mind long past the end of the Scripture reading. It was suddenly clear to me how LIFE often separates me from the love of God, or at least makes me feel separated. In the presence of crisis, death or suffering, I am often aware of God’s presence. But in the rush of daily life, I often forget to listen for God. Deadlines, obligations…

Love 360 Includes You
Some years ago, I had an epiphany: If God loves every person, if every person is of equal value and worth in God’s eyes, then

Costumes and Masks
and The Roles We Play
Halloween will soon be upon us and, with modifications for social distancing, children everywhere are gathering their costumes and preparing to go trick-or-treating. Halloween costumes

Are You Needy –
Or Do You Know Someone Who Is?
True Confessions:
I have needs.
I often ignore my needs.
When I ignore my needs, the trouble starts….

Whole, and Part of a Larger Whole
Food for thought: You are complete unto yourself, and you also part of something much, much larger – just as the individual pictures that make up the photomosaic above are complete unto themselves but together make up a larger whole. Each piece contributes its “color” to the whole. Each piece matters. Each piece is holy. Your piece, no matter how insignificant it may sometimes feel, contributes to the whole. Your piece matters. Your piece is whole, and holy.

Re-Entry and Re-Creation
Everyone seems to be talking about “re-entry” these days. Now that many of us have been vaccinated and pandemic restrictions are lifting, life is starting to return to some semblance of “normal.”
But what do we want our new “new normal” – our chosen new normal – to look like? Which activities do we want to resume, and which are we just as happy without? How safe (or not) do we feel in larger groups of unrelated people? What grief do we have yet to process? What joy do we yearn for? How do we cope with the uncertainty that now seems to be part of our lives?
For me, the answer to all of those questions comes…

NPR’s Joy Generator
Feeling a little low? Science is now showing what spiritual sages have long known: that “small doses of daily delight can shift our focus away from our worries and give more opportunity for joy to arise.”
What brings you delight? Standing barefoot in the grass on a warm summer day? Taking a dip in a chilly lake? Spending time with your grandchildren? Quilting or knitting? Playing tennis? Having a bouquet of flowers on your desk? Whatever it is, make a bit of time for it this week, and notice what a difference it makes.
If you need a quick boost right now, try NPR’s Joy Generator and hit the re-set button on your day.

Many Ways of Praying
There may be as many ways of praying as there are people and personalities. God comes to each of us as we are in this moment.
I prepared the attached list outlining several ways to pray to share with…

God is Doing a New Thing
Don’t You See It?
Sometimes it can feel really hard to see what God is up to. Sometimes, the road before us is clear, like the wide trail around the lake at the retreat center. And sometimes, it seems more obscure…