Ephiphany
God has called you out of darkness, into his wonderful light. May you experience his kindness and blessings, and be strong in faith, in hope and in love. Because you are followers of Christ, who appeared on this day…
Christmas Eve on God’s Acre
I grew up in a small New England town with a charming Christmas Eve tradition. The whole town spills onto “God’s Acre”, the town green, each Christmas Eve to sing Christmas carols. It’s a tradition dating back to 1919, making…
Letting Go
Death is not a tidy process. I've answered too many 3 am pages from the hospital to know that death does not honor anyone's schedule. Death can arrive under the stark glare of fluorescent lighting and the faint whiff of…
What’s in your Spiritual Toolbox?
When the first signs of green mold emerged on the railing of my deck, I grabbed a scrub bucket and sponge. Two days of scrub, rinse, repeat convinced me there must be a better way. Enter the power washer, my…
Your word is your bond
One fall, I received a call asking me to speak on a Thursday night. Checking my calendar, the Thursday night was wide open, and I agreed to speak. Months later, as the speaking engagement approached, I realized I had casually…
Clap Happy
Years ago, the MN Orchestra embarked on a major renovation of their concert hall the same year in the players were in contract negotiations. Things went south in a hurry, and before you knew it, the players had been locked…
More than One Shining Moment
As the big basketball tournament begins, my thoughts turn to legendary basketball coach John Wooden. Wooden loved to quote Abraham Lincoln, who said, “If we magnified our blessings the way we magnify our disappointments, we’d all be a lot happier.”…
Mardis Gras
Today is Mardis Gras, our liturgically sanctioned day of excess. You know what to do. You can repent tomorrow. That's sort of the point.
Choose Forgiveness
He sat on the end of the front row, choosing the spot, he informed me, so he would be out of the way. He had a heavy burden, a walker that was fully laden. My mind didn’t register him as…
Fall down six times, get up seven
Babies are remarkably resilient. Without our coaching they manage to learn to walk. They learn by falling. They fall again and again and again. And every time they fall, they get up and try again. Somewhere along the way, some…
