The gift of a soft heart
“My mantra this year has been the Hebrew words, Lev Basar, which means ‘a heart of flesh,’ from the biblical verse, ‘I will take from you a heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.’ Rebbe Nachman of…
Daily Dose (Mar 4 – 7)
TUESDAY MAR 4 -- A Nigerian woman, a physician at a teaching hospital in the United States, attended a Gordon MacDonald lecture. After, she approached Gordon, to offer kind words of affirmation. She introduced herself using an American name."If I…
Place love at the center
An elder is speaking to a gathering of children. “In my spirit, there are two fierce tigers: Anger-Hatred and Love-Compassion. And they are fighting to the death.”A fearful child asks, “Which one will win?”The elder replies: “The one that I…
Daily Dose (Feb 25 – 28)
TUESDAY FEB 25 -- I was so grateful to spend time with those who gathered at the Religious Education Congress in Anaheim. My topic: This little light of mine—making a difference in our world.From the Gospel of Matthew, “You are…
From our head to our heart
At the turn of the century, Ted Shawn, a young seminarian called to the ministry, was stricken with polio. Somewhere deep inside, he heard another, although very unlikely voice, calling him to dance.So. That's what Ted Shawn did. With great…
Daily Dose (Feb 18 – 21)
TUESDAY FEB 18 -- Let us be this alive. No longer afraid…Gratefully, our topic this week will keep taking me back to baltering. (To balter is to dance without particular skill or grace, but with extreme joy.)When we hear, “Let…
Let us be this alive
“It is a serious thing just to be alive on this fresh morning in this broken world.” Thank you, Mary Oliver.A funny thing happened on my way to writing Sabbath Moment this week. A heartwarming detour, enamored on an enriching…
Daily Dose (Feb 11 – 14)
TUESDAY FEB 11 -- "So; chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength and discipline. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love.…
May love guide our steps
On my walk this morning, the geese are huddled, no doubt wishing they had headed south for the winter.“I get it,” I tell them.And since the geese weren’t in a hurry to scurry off, I decided a brief homily wouldn’t…
Daily Dose (Feb 4 – 7)
TUESDAY FEB 4 -- We are empowered to repair and heal the world where it touches us, the small world—the people—close by, the daily, those ordinary resting places for our heart. “Love is the only way to rescue humanity from…