The end of suffering

I’ve been wanting to write about this for a while, but the timing hasn’t been right. Today it felt right, so here I go. Two years ago Jack and I almost split up. We had a major crisis in our marriage that, instead of pushing me out the door or shutting me down emotionally, opened…

Living in the present, looking forward to…

As Jack and I were driving home late last evening, we both noticed that our conversation was not very uplifting. We were sort of randomly talking about some long-standing difficulties with a couple of family members, the recent illness of a good friend, and how another friend (that we had just run into) didn't seem…

Don’t just do something, sit there!

I grew up in a household of rushers. I don't remember ever seeing my mother sit down and just relax, or simply appreciate doing nothing. If my father wasn't reading (usually the newspaper) or watching TV, he didn't sit either. Sitting and relaxing were suspicious activities, often met with the words, "If you don't have…

Looking for the magic

For years I have been trying to find a Christmas tree that had the same scent as the ones we had when I was a kid. The place where we've purchased our trees in the past, said it was Balsam that we were looking for, so we that's the kind we've gotten. But they never…

Gleaning (what words do we pick out…and remember?)

We watched a National Geographic documentary last night called, The Wildest Dream. It's the true story of George Mallory, a mountain climber who died on Everest in the 1920's. I've always liked stories and films about Mt. Everest, but what really grabbed me about this film, was the reaction of Ruth Mallory when she was…

these holy hands

Sometimes the language used to speak about the Divine, is antiquated and can get in the way of the deeper spiritual concept, but most writers of the 18th and 19th centuries, spoke of God in masculine terms. I have had to make peace with this and look beyond the limited use of language so I…

A special enterprise of God

I went to the eye doctor yesterday. I had broken a blood vessel in the same place last October and it seemed too odd not to have it checked out by someone who knew more about eyes than I did. I liked the doctor that examined me from the moment I met him. He was…

A beacon of Love

Right out of high school, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with my life, so my mother suggested I enter the Licensed Practical Nursing program at our local hospital where she worked as a nurse. It was a one year intensive program and at the end I became an L.P.N. I only worked for…

Being happy for others; Celebrating our interdependence!

I read a story, years ago, about a group of tenant farmers waiting for housing. They were living in squalor and occasionally, someone would be rewarded for their hard work and be moved to a better home. Most people were miserable. There was one man who was different. Every time he heard the news that…

happiness makes you attractive

About 10 years ago, I was asked by a local church, to give a workshop to teenage girls on self-esteem. As the group of 5 girls assembled, it was obvious that their parents had made them come. They slouched down in their chairs and there was not a smile to be seen. Everything about their…