Gratitude is an essential practice that positions us to receive life’s blessings and burdens with openness and trust. Giving thanks with a grateful heart is transformative.
Savoring the moment when the sacredness of the present is made plain
It is only in suspension that the sacredness of the present is made plain. What lies ahead cannot be seen, but each day has enough trouble of its own. For now, there is this moment. This breath. This being here.
Why gratitude may be the best gift under the tree this year
If you’re reading this story on the new laptop or tablet or phone you just got for Christmas, be thankful. But don’t forget also to be grateful, which, many spiritual leaders say, is not necessarily the same thing.
Now thank we all our God
By Scott Dickison It was around the year 1636, in the town of Eilenburg, in present day Germany, during what is now known as the Thirty Years’ War — the longest and what many believe is still the most destructive…
It’s not about the ‘thank you’
By Corey Fields It’s a story that has stuck with me ever since I heard it. When I was in high school, I had a mentor and Bible study leader who went to Honduras every year with her undergrad students….
A sweet fragrance rising before the throne of God
By Joe LaGuardia Reflecting on the fragility of life and the significance of gratitude, the poet of Psalm 39 wrote, “Hear my prayer, O Lord … for I am your passing guest, a sojourner, like my ancestors” (v. 12). This…
Being content
By Jonathan Waits Have you ever been in a place where you were totally content? That’s a hard place to be. It goes against our natural inclinations. Our natural lean is to constantly reach and strive for whatever is the…
Givenness
By Scott Dickison Marilynne Robinson, the gifted writer, novelist and Christian apologist, argues in her new collection of essays that for all our modern questioning and search for meaning we often fail to appreciate the “givenness of things.” I’m taken…
5 reasons we should complain
As a minister and a father, I’m accustomed to hearing people complain, especially my kids. Such phrases as, “I don’t want to go to bed,” or “This sandwich is yucky,” or “My sister is bothering me,” are repeated on a…