Eleven years ago on September 11, I was in college. I was getting out of a Tuesday morning class when I heard people talking about an airplane crash. As I walked back to my apartment, I heard more and more…
“. . . as you love yourself.”
If Jesus were pastoring in a mainline, Protestant church today, and were asked the same question scribes and scholars ask in Mark 12.28-31 (What is the greatest commandment?), I think he’d omit the “. . . as you love yourself”…
Prodigals and those who love them
Even if you are the parent of a child who has never rebelled, been in trouble, or broken your heart, please read the rest of this blog. If you have never encountered a day of difficulty in raising your children,…
Find meaning
Not all stories have happy endings, but by the grace of God all stories may acquire meaning. Face it. Told one way, our lives become tales of loss. Lost youth, loves, jobs, opportunities, integrity, health, family, friends, energy, vision, hope—there…
Worlds colliding
As a pioneer in the field of grief, Elisabeth Kubler-Ross used to hold workshops all over the world. In these workshops people didn’t just learn about grief; they had a chance to do deep grieving of their own. A friend…
How spaces become places
Have you ever thought about the difference between places and spaces? A place (as I would define it) is a location with determined boundaries. A space is the opposite; it is a location with undetermined boundaries. Examples may help here….
Miss Jane
Officially, she had no children. Unofficially, she had scads of them. I don’t know of the children she shepherded as teacher and librarian. By the time I met her she was long retired. I know only of the countless children…
Heart and soul
Two teenagers banging out a duet on an out-of-tune, Sunday School classroom piano. I’ll admit it. that’s the first thing I think of when I see the words, “heart and soul.” And yet, it’s what I’ve chosen to call this…
Learning not to be perfect
We live in a world where from a young age we are critiqued. From kindergarten on we get grades that tell us how close, or far away, we are from perfection. To be perfect is the goal for which we…