Monday, August 17, 2020 | Reflections
When I am hungry, angry, lonely, or tired, my coping mechanisms snap to attention like mice when the cat is gone. I sense judgment from the humans around me, and experience urges me to justify behaviors or explain myself. My response is often out of proportion to the...
Sunday, August 16, 2020 | Reflections
Israel is the new name given Jacob after his wrestling match at Peniel, after he “has seen God face to face.” Studying the etymology of the name is its own wrestling match. Who is the subject? Go a little further in the story, and we see that Israel’s children become...
Saturday, August 15, 2020 | Reflections
I love trying on different understandings of God. I once heard someone describe walking outside in the imagined company of all the great thinkers of history, loved ones here and gone, wisdom known and unknown, as time spent with her higher power.Recently, I...
Friday, August 14, 2020 | Reflections
I wish this shocked me more. Infanticide, genocide, children used to build economies and satisfy urges. This behavior isn’t limited to the past: We still commit atrocities against children of all ages.How did humankind arrive at such a point? I suppose it started with...
Thursday, August 13, 2020 | Reflections
From the Archives: January 27, 1951What a magnificent declaration of faith this is! Saint Paul had ample opportunity for knowing the danger of things coming in between the soul and God, and it is doubtless out of his own experience that he writes…..(View this...
Wednesday, August 12, 2020 | Reflections
I’ve come to understand the only surefire plan I have in my life is seeking alignment with God’s will. Sometimes it doesn’t look like I thought it would—but when I am open to guidance, I see it. When I am in alignment, I feel it. God’s will is a self-correcting...
Tuesday, August 11, 2020 | Reflections
Slippery slopes are dangerous and they can’t always be avoided. Literal or figurative, into each life a little rain must fall.Relationships develop dynamics, mindful or not. Practice develops skills and habits. Conversations without dissent develop confidence. These...
Monday, August 10, 2020 | Reflections
I don’t recite every word in the liturgy. I struggle with some aspects of the creeds and prayers. My verbal omissions went largely unnoticed for years. It wasn’t until I developed a habit of attending Morning Prayer at a new church that I was called out. I was the...
Sunday, August 9, 2020 | Reflections
We don’t get to choose our family of origin. We don’t get to choose emotionally mature parents or a healthy household or siblings. We grow into our circumstances and we grow out of them. They are part of our story.Joseph’s family relationships are comp….(View...
Saturday, August 8, 2020 | Reflections
Repetition can have a powerful effect. As hearts beat and lungs breathe, so can words repeated animate our lives.Sanskrit mantras are used in meditation. This is why sacred words are often used in centering prayer. This is why self-help books prescribe daily...
