The Sunday after Easter is known by several names. Most people will call it, “Low Sunday” because it is one of the Sundays churches experience the lowest attendance in worship. Everyone makes a big push on Easter to get the family to church, especially the members who normally don’t come. I think that takes so…
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The Prodigal and the Pigs
A few weeks ago I stopped by the barn because I saw my brother walking alongside it. He had a terrible scowl on his face and I asked him what had happened. “I got attacked by a stupid pig!” He had grabbed one of the piglets to tag its ear. Apparently the mama didn’t take…
Pleasantness and the Post Office
You’ll call me a liar but the most refreshing part of my week was just spent in the post office. That’s saying something considering I also had the first pedicure this week that I’ve had in three months. Tina soaked and scrubbed my feet then painted my toes an appropriate holiday red, bringing me physical…
I can’t wear that!The Life You Choose, Introduction
A granddaughter goes shopping with her grandmother and finds a cute jacket in the junior’s section of the department store. The granddaughter loves the color on her grandmother and knows the grandmother is small enough to fit into the jacket. But the grandmother takes one look at the style and says, “I can’t wear that!”…
The things people say…
“What DO you say to someone who has just lost a loved one?” This week I had the pleasure of visiting another book club, which consistently yield excellent conversation. Again questions like this came up in conversation with some of the members as well as laments at what people have said to them in times…
I am grief.
Every week, our yoga instructor encourages us to consider choosing a focus for our practice, suggesting such things as joy and calm. This morning one word came to mind and insisted on staying: grief. It is my honor to hear people’s experiences with grief as I visit groups and organizations to talk about my book,…
Wellness, Death, Blame, and Control
Yesterday I had a wonderful visit with two women I love and respect. We gathered to talk about forming a study group around my book, Phe, but ended up discussing all manner of things. One of them works as a physical therapist, who has done wonders for my own shoulder issues, and shared with us…
Saint Francis and the Error in Fundamentals
My friend and I are reading as a daily devotion Matthew Fox’s Christian Mystics: 365 Readings and Meditations. The selections are short and the meditations with accompanying questions encourage thought without requiring a day’s worth of contemplation and consternation. Today’s selection called up the moment of history when Saint Francis of Assisi stood before Pope…
Wild and Unbusied
I had forgotten what it was to not be busy. This afternoon I wandered around town with my children and it hit me hard: Icouldn’t remember another time when we didn’t have too many plans to rush offto. One by one I collected all three from school and once the oldest hopped in the car,…
God the Father and Father’s Day…it’s complicated.
Father’s Day is this week, which for many will mean cookouts and fun gifts for the dad in their life. Others will celebrate father figures and surrogate fathers by calling them or Facetiming or Zooming. There will be some shared stories and laughter and perhaps a hearty dose of nostalgia.But for others it can be…
Prayerful Kitchen 