Let your arms down
There was a farmer who had a lot of fields, and he kept all the birds and creatures away from his crops with traps and fences. He was very successful.But he was also very lonely.So, one day, he stood in…
A Place to Watch the Rain
Rabbi Albert Lewis tells the story of a man seeking employment on a farm; he hands a letter of recommendation to his new employer that reads simply, "He sleeps in a storm." The farmer is uncertain what to make of…
Music as the hands of grace
I believe in the healing power of revisiting. Returning to stories—in books and movies and parables—that have reminded us that hope and joy and renewal are alive and well. Stories that ground us in the gifts of sufficiency and wholeness.…
Our inherent beauty
A family went out to restaurant for lunch. The waitress arrives. “What’ll you’ll have?” She asks.The husband gives his order, and then says, “And the wife will have…”The waitress turns to the five-year-old daughter, “And sugar, what’ll you have?”With a…
Permission to let go
I just finished a weekend in Anaheim, CA at the Religious Education Congress. Hugs from a few thousand of my closest friends. And I talked about the permission to slow down long enough to savor the moment. But that’s not…
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,…
Healing from grace
We live in a world that needs healing, from the gentle arms and hands of grace.And every smile, every laugh, every moment of kindness, every bit of gentleness and tenderness, and every gift of grace, lets a little more healing…
Love brings you home
Some years ago, a homesick dog made news headlines in Seattle. He negotiated traffic, eluded Washington State Police, and crossed a bridge. (Yes, it sounds like a Far Side Cartoon.) But this was not just any bridge.Zeb, an Australian shepherd,…
Soaked in Grace
GK Chesterton tells the story of a teenage boy granted one wish by a genie. “Do you wish to be huge or tiny?”We are all swayed by the appeal of being big, strong and powerful. So, no surprise, the boy…