I love Advent. And how appropriate it is as we go through Covid-19 with its sickness, shut downs, and struggle. God’s people in the Old Testament cried out for deliverance—from slavery in Babylon, from continued foreign threats, and for a Messiah to give them hope & assurance...
Blessings of the Season! I hope you are finding joy and peace in this holiday season. I wanted to share this beautiful Advent Beatitude that my friend, Karen Olson, wrote. Karen lives in Oregon and is a Pastor and a Spiritual Director. She shared this with me and gave me permission to pass it...
As Thanksgiving has been approaching (and is now here!) I’ve been thinking about gratitude a lot lately. When the boys were little we used to go around the circle before dinner and talk about what we were thankful for in the past year. Some years we would hear things like “I’m...
How are you feeling this week as Thanksgiving approaches? This year it is distressing that we are not able to gather together for Thanksgiving in the ways we are used to doing. Thankfulness probably does not come as easily in a time of pandemic! In the book of Colossians, chapter 3, the...
I’ve written before about fear. There is lots of it going around…touching each of us in some form. Fear of catching the Covid-19 virus…of getting very sick…of dying from it... or having a loved one die from it. Fear of the other political side…socialists!...
As I stared into the incredible Grand Canyon last week, and as the vertigo swirled over me, I felt incredible small. The immensity of the hole and the myriad colors and textures is overwhelming. Then, as I read the interpretive signs along the Rim Trail, I gained a deeper sense of why I felt...
Wednesday, the day after elections and the world awaits with anxiety unabated. I arrive at the DMV office to have the lienholder removed from my car’s title. A simple task with all appropriate paperwork ready—and I find the line long. Coronavirus continues to slow society and insist...
Last week my devotion talked about the “test” we are in and how all religions mention it in some form. With Covid-19, election stresses, economic uncertainty, and racial strife, the year 2020 has been a real test of endurance for us. Psychologists talk of much higher rates of...
Every day I get a variety of devotions and spiritual reflections. I appreciate their insights and the inspiration they provide. One of my favorite writers is Father Steven Charleston, retired Episcopal Bishop of Alaska and a member of the Choctaw Tribe in Oklahoma. Last month I read this...
Many of us say a common prayer in the evening. Nancy and I taught it to our children. It has been modified over the years but here is the version we use. Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep.Guard me through the starry night, and wake me with the morning light...