The gift of wonder
Today I sit, mulling Sabbath Moment topics, but easily sidetracked when I look out and see the red-winged blackbird serenely balanced on the very tip of a cattail flower spike, at the edge of the pond. This does my heart…
Invitation to be here now
Uncertainty doesn’t feel like a fun thing. And we like to think we’d recognize the stuff that may unravel us, but are routinely surprised. So, it is no shock that we yearn for more certainty, you know, to enable us…
The gift of enough
I’m back home after a weekend on Vashon Island. I enjoyed my time as guest preacher this morning with an appreciative group at Burton Church. Truth be told, over the past four years, I’ve preached more to sheep and geese,…
Reintroduced to wonder
A small art gallery near Lake Galway in Ireland holds an exhibition with local art. A poet of no small renown drops by to view it. As he finishes his perusing, a local farmer arrives. Once a year, the farmer…
Absorb daily miracles
During a noon-hour rush on a steamy July day, two men were jockeying their way through the crowd on a New York City avenue. They practically shouted as they tried to hear one other above the din. One man, a…
Sanctify the ordinary
For children of all ages, C.S. Lewis's wardrobe has been the entryway to the magical world of Narnia--of emerald witches, talking horses, kings, and magic apples. But for L.R. Holmes of Camp Cottage, Gloucestershire, the threshold to enchantment is nothing…
Stay alive to this life
Sometimes air travel feels like a microcosm of our world’s heaviness and uncertainty. In other words, a place where we wonder what possibly may go awry.When I used to fly frequently, I remember times, let’s say, “on edge.”There’s a chunk…
Sacrament of the present
"Dad," the six-year-old boy asks his Father, “How much money do you make an hour?""Son," the father, short on patience from a long work week, answers, "that is an inappropriate question. You need to learn to be polite. There are…
Grant me the grace of wonder
A famous travel writer, visiting Japan, was invited to dine in the home of a well-to-do Japanese Family. Delighted to entertain a well-known visitor, the host invited a number of guests, letting everyone know that this meal would be special…
Relentless tenderness
One my walk this morning, there is a slight lifting of the Spring air so I can smell the earth and the blossoms on the wild cherry trees, and I take possession of my life. (A shout out to May…