As a storeowner tacked a sign above his door, 'Puppies for Sale,' a little boy appeared and asked. "How much are you going to sell those puppies for?"The storeowner replied "$50 each."The little boy reached into his pocket and pulled…
Tuesday -- This week we’re unpacking one of the themes of Advent: waiting and making space—the permission to see that the ordinary is the hiding place for the holy. My favorite Christmas story—to retell sometime every December—is one Garrison Keillor…
Christmas is the season of Advent, which means, literally, "to wait."But let’s pause here, shall we? You see, waiting is not one of my spiritual gifts. And truth be told, I wish it were easier to wait.To wait implies that…
This week is about the permission to live from the core of our authentic self, and at home in our own skin. The permission to reconnect with our heart. And how the choices we make from that core, spill light…
Maybe it’s my age, but these days I do pay closer attention to obituary columns, and headlines about people I know who have died. And too often think, or say, “That’s too young.”This past week, Bishop Carlton D. Pearson, a…
Tuesday -- In one encounter with a teacher in India, Donald Hall asks him to define "contentment.""Absorbedness," the teacher replies.Now, I can't find absorbedness in any dictionary. But here's my best guess: "Let life in."Let life in... in the wonder.Let…
I write (and talk) a lot about embracing beauty in the ordinary. The sacrament of the present moment. But some days, I feel undone by life's unsightliness. The cracks, fault lines and intense suffering takes a toll.I reread Donald Hall's…
Tuesday -- This week we take to heart the story of a homesick dog making news headlines in Seattle. He negotiated traffic, eluded Washington State Police, and crossed a bridge.Why? Because it was love that brought Zeb home.His caper-filled journey…
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,…
Tuesday -- This week we take to heart Mother Teresa’s reminder, "If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other."Well, if we do belong to one other, then "they"—the "least of these"…