Have you ever heard Jim Gaffigan, one of my favorite comedians, talk about becoming a father of four kids? It is hilarious! Regardless of the number of kids you have you’ll laugh your head off. And for all of us with four kids or more… you’ll laugh good and hard, but also feel the… Read More Lord, Save Me: The One Thing to Say When You Feel Like You’re Drowning
Today, many of us will find our way to the doors of a church to received the imposition of ashes upon our forehead. We will hear how we are made from dust and will return to dust. We will hear of how we are frail and broken and in need of God’s forgiveness and grace.… Read More For the Love of Dust & Ashes: An Invitation to Embrace our Belovedness This Valentine’s Ash Wednesday
I didn’t notice how fast I was going. I just didn’t realize. I was on autopilot, not paying attention to my speed. I wasn’t late for anything. I wasn’t necessarily in a hurry. I was just on my way home trying to get my Joy Baby down for her nap before she fell asleep. With no… Read More Slow Down! How a Ticket is Teaching Me to Lean into the Practice of Slow
Nothing shuts the South down like snow. Nothing pushes the pause button quite like those seemingly magical white flakes floating from the sky. It’s like our little world here gets tucked in to bed, whether we feel tired or not. Nature itself tells us, “It’s time to stop for now.” And we do, we stop.… Read More Selah: Learning to Pause and Take a Breath
The lights are down, the tree is gone. Does it seem a little darker in your home? A little more gloomy, a little less cheerful around the house? Maybe it’s not just your house that seems darker. Maybe you have places of darkness in your life, things you are struggling with, painful places of despair… Read More When Life Brings You Back Down to Earth After Christmas: Holding on to the Light
Did you know today’s the day… the day we celebrate the arrival of those wise men to the cradleside of Jesus? The day that Jesus showed himself to us outsiders, we who are the Gentiles. Epiphany… that’s what we call it, this January 6 day, 12 days after Christmas where we remember the coming of… Read More When You Already Feel Behind 6 Days Into The New Year… Encouragement the Magi Bring Us on This Ephiphany Day
So I ran a half marathon toward the end of last year. I didn’t know I could do that… until I did. It took a lot of training. Waking up early and pounding the pavement and keeping at it and pushing myself. And it feels good, accomplishing a goal like that. I’m not going to… Read More Sometimes You Need to Walk a Lap: A New Year’s Resolution to Slow Down, Stop Trying So Hard and Learn the Practice of Savoring
Some days you don’t do anything other than the most important. Rocking a feverish, sick child to sleep. Sitting beside the bed of an aged parent whose final days have come. Being the shoulder for a friend in despair. Nothing else gets done. It’s ok friend. You are attending to the most important. Not… Read More Some Days
How’s your Advent been going? Mine hasn’t quite gone as I planned. Every year I have this hope for a somewhat peaceful Advent, where life slows down and we take time to reflect upon the meaning of this season. This year I wanted to simplify and focus on what matters. But the fact was we were… Read More Throw up, Not Silent Nights, and Advent Plans Gone Out the Window: A Reminder That Immanuel Comes Into Our Mess
Advent is upon us. Tomorrow, December 3rd, we will begin this precious season of waiting and preparing for the babe who comes to speaks to us the most profound truth ever spoken: the truth that we are deeply, ridiculously loved. As we prepare to enter Advent, I thought I would repost a post I wrote… Read More How a Wreath Can Help Us Slow Down and Make Space for the Holy this Holiday Season
