An elderly carpenter is eager to retire. He tells his employer (a very well-respected contractor) of his plans to leave the house-building business. He wishes to live a more leisurely life with his wife and extended family. He knows he…
Tuesday -- The week, the invitation and permission to return to, and be embraced by, the gentle arms and hands of grace.We told the story of a Mary Oliver poem being read to a group of maltreated young Kenyan women,…
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…
Tuesday -- Welcome to the New Year. I hope you’ve found a moment or two for gratitude and renewal.This week, the affirmation that, we are healers. Grounded in Ram Dass’ affirmation, “We're all just walking each other home.”It is from…
Happy New Year to all.For many, it is resolution time.But here’s my confession, I’m not a list maker. Well, that’s not technically accurate. I do make lists, but tend to forget where I put them. This is true; I tip…
Tuesday -- This week we remember, "Peace is our gift to each other." (Elie Wiesel)Knowing that peace is always, always small steps.And sometimes I wonder if even small steps of peace are possible. I only know that when I see…
Do you know the story of Hope in No Man’s Land?The movie does my heart good.The setting is Christmas, 1914. World War I—raging for only four months—had already become one of the bloodiest wars in history. Soldiers on both sides…
Tuesday -- This week the reminder that a gentle antidote for weariness or lethargy is childlike joy. Enlarging childlike joy is purposely and graciously, soul enriching.Confucian philosopher Mencius’ reminder, “Great is the human who has not lost his childlike heart.”Our…
This week we celebrate the Advent Candle of Joy (the Shepherd's or Gaudete Candle).Count me in. I’m all in favor of joy. But sometimes, I don’t feel it. Is that okay to admit? Or say, out loud? There’s a part…
Tuesday -- In Brendan, (Frederick Buechner's novel about a sixteenth-century Irish saint), a servant recounts a conversation between Brendan and Gildas, a crippled and bitter old priest."I am as crippled as the dark world," Gildas says."If it comes to that,…