Frederick Buechner famously defined vocation when he wrote, “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” He explained, “The kind of work God usually calls you to is the…
The pillow that keeps me up at night
No one should suffer because of a pain in the neck. Six years ago, I woke up every morning with a stiff neck. I tried exercises and heating pads. I took a few Aleves. I bought a new pillow and…
It’s time to live like mystics
I spent the pandemic lamenting things I could not do — no restaurants, no movie theaters, no museums. I was excited when I got to go back to my favorite Mexican place, the neighborhood movie theater and the Metropolitan Museum…
Rethinking Mother’s Day
If you Google “Mother’s Day” looking for a gift your mother might actually like — this could be the year to move past the needlepoint pillow that says “Home is where the Mom is” to a promise to let her…
The habits of churches that need resurrection
In the 13th century, the Muslim poet Rumi had an interesting way of describing our need for resurrection: “The mystics are gathering in the street. Come out!” “Leave me alone. I’m sick.” “I don’t care if you’re dead! Jesus is…
My phone and I need to talk
I have begun to suspect that some of what I read is not even true. I tell myself that I am checking the news, but it is not always new or important. I read news that is not quite news…
I’m fearing the fear of fear itself
The last year has not been good for much, but it has been great for fear. Fear is having a banner year. We have stayed afraid that we will catch COVID-19. We are still processing the news that there are…
Give yourself some grace during the pandemic
We already were sick and tired when we had to watch a riot that made us wonder what country we are living in. Then we remembered how many horrible moments we have experienced in the last year and were not…
Merry Christmas anyway
We are saving money — no plane tickets, no fancy restaurants, no Nutcracker this year. We are not seeing everyone we wish we were seeing, not doing everything we wish we were doing, and not having the Christmas we wish…