“Let me seek, then, the gift of silence … where the sky is my prayer, the birds are my prayer, the wind in the trees is my prayer, for God is in all.” — Thomas Merton, “Thoughts In Solitude.” This…
Finding sabbath in a hammock
As a pastor, the practice of sabbath is especially challenging. Sunday (the day most Protestants observe a Sabbath of sorts) is full of work-related service opportunities as a pastor. Preaching and teaching the Bible, leading in prayer, committee meetings, ensuring…
Consider the trees: A Holy Week reflection on looking up
I sat on my front porch as the cool morning breeze gently lifted the leaves from the grasp of the trees and carried them to their death. Winter was coming. Seasons would change, and new life would be born again…
Minister’s healing from sexual abuse intersects #MeToo era in new memoir
Lucille F. Sider is an ordained minister called to bring healing to others while carrying dark, painful secrets inside her for decades.
Baptist’s passion for faith, history and nature births new Yellowstone journal
Bruce Gourley is a Baptist from Georgia with a thing for history. And religion. And the American West. That passion — even calling — now has him penning and editing articles for the Yellowstone History Journal, a new scholarly publication of which he is the founder and editor.
Make every day Earth Day
“The great lesson from the true mystics … is that the sacred is in the ordinary, that it is to be found in one’s daily life, in one’s neighbors, friends and family, in one’s back yard.” —Abraham Maslow, Religion, Values…
Beauty for Life
Our youngest son Seth has gone deep into the world of The Hobbit. Seth reads stories from the shire with feverish energy. He sketches scenes from Middle Earth and regales us with talk of his beloved Dwarves. At every opportunity,…
Lessons From Stone Mountain
It all started with my teeth. A couple of years ago I was reclining in the chair of my dentist, Dr. Uetsuki, waiting for the nitrous oxide to kick in. “Are you doing anything special for New Year’s?” he asked…