A couple of days ago, I started down the slippery slope of discouragement. You know how it works - you entertain a negative thought for a moment, and gloom descends. You entertain it for more than a moment, and it calls its friends and sets up a full-blown pity party in your head. I gave… Continue reading Choose Joy
Covid-19 has changed our lives in big and small ways. For those who have lost loved ones, their lives will never be the same. Others who have been infected with the virus recover but may struggle for weeks and months afterward to regain their health. Some have been hit hard economically and struggle to pay… Continue reading The Wrap-Around God
I met Gertrude in a dingy tenement thirty-seven years ago, and I remember her still. I remember how she wore her hair and how she talked, but mostly I remember the sad, desolate look in her eyes. Gertrude was a prostitute and an addict. Her drug-dealer/pimp/boyfriend held court in a corner of the room, doing… Continue reading The Treasure
We stumbled through the Mikea Forest in pitch blackness. Two American men, good friends who had traveled here to work on development projects, walked next to me. I couldn't see them - I couldn't see my hand in front of my face - but at least I could hear them. Our Malagasy friends seemed to… Continue reading Light the Dark
Composer Frederick Delius once said that music is the outburst of the soul. An outburst, as in eruption, explosion, rush, gale, flood, torrent, outflowing, a welling up. I've been listening to such musical soul-exploding outbursts for the last couple of days. Since Spotify Wrapped 2020 named Yodel Beat from the Trolls World Tour as my top song for… Continue reading Outburst
When I was a little girl, I loved looking through our Christmas cards every day. They piled up on the dining room table until they reached critical mass, and then dad would string them on either side of the archway between the living room and dining room. The Jesus cards were the best. I liked… Continue reading A Hallmark Gospel
Years ago, my husband and I lived in an urban community alongside some of the poorest and most marginalized people in this country. We were working with the Salvation Army, so December was always our busiest month. After six weeks of manning the red kettles, delivering food and toys, Christmas caroling in city streets and… Continue reading Unforgettable
Before I spill my morning musings, I want to direct you to a couple of friends. Robin Hagen over at Ordinary Holy has posted this rich reflection on John the Baptist's stark remark regarding Jesus: He must increase, but I must decrease. I've read it and will probably re-read it a few times because there is so much… Continue reading Child for Life
Today a few words from Dietrich Bonhoeffer set me on a contemplative path; I'm thinking about silence. Not the silence that equals no sound, but that interior silence where we can hear ourselves think and discern the still, small voice of God whispering in the depths of our heart. As determined as I was to… Continue reading Silence
There is nothing special about my advent table. The table itself was a thrift store find some years back. It has hosted many grandkids' art projects, which is why I cover it with a $7 tablecloth from Big Lots. Our small washer/dryer combo lives next to the refrigerator, hidden behind an ingenious sliding pantry made… Continue reading Table for Two
Paper Thin Places 
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