Gaining a heart of wisdom
One summer day, I listened to hard words from a dear woman I had loved and admired for nearly twenty years. We were seated in her small room in a nursing home. My grandson was exploring every nook, cranny, and light switch (and eating one of the cookies we had brought for her!), and I… Continue reading What Do You Do When Looking Back Feels Safer than Looking Forward?
My young friend’s question was as deeply earnest as it was misguided: “I know I need to read and pray every day, but isn’t it just hypocritical to go through the motions on days when I’m not feelin’ it?” It’s not hard to trace this line of reasoning to its source. In Western thought, a… Continue reading Is It Hypocritical to Practice Spiritual Disciplines When I’m Not Feelin’ It?
We were new in church and new to the area, and our little three-bedroom fixer-upper was situated in a part of the universe in which it didn’t matter that we had been born and bred in Maine. We had not been born and bred in this part of Maine, and we had the accent (or lack of same) to… Continue reading People Who Are Cooked for Feel Cared For: 4 Helpful Hospitality Resources
My parents and my husband Calvin's parents met for the first time over a lobster dinner, two nights before our May 12 wedding. That was thirty-two years ago, but I still remember my apprehension. Our two worlds were colliding there at my mother-in-law's sprawling dining room table. If you had asked me then, I'd have… Continue reading One Guiding Question that Will Impact the Story of Your Marriage
Sunday Scripture and Book Talk How much does worry weigh? By my observation, enough to round the shoulders, slow the step, and lengthen the daily darkness. Worry absorbs energy, steals sleep, and dampens conversation. My time spent in public school classrooms warns me that even our children are not immune to worry, for it's not… Continue reading A Great Alternative to Worry and Two Resources to End Your Ceaseless Striving
My joyful sunflowers have bowed their heads in the garden, waiting for the long winter to begin, but I have picked my last tomatoes and green beans, dug up the beets with my grandkids, and all the pumpkins and squash can sit on the deck for a bit longer while we wait for the first… Continue reading The October Book Talk Where We Are Celebrating Abundance!
On Friday, August 13th, my cousin reminded me of how superstitious our grandmother had been. The conversation took place on social media, so pretty soon my sister had chimed in and added to the list of things that drove poor Nana to hysteria: seven years of bad luck with a broken mirror, death in the… Continue reading The August Book Talk Where We Are Committed to Being Not Even a Little Bit Superstitious
Since the Lord in his infinite wisdom has ordained that, here in Mid-Coast Maine, snow and cold should always be followed immediately by rain and warm temperatures, it's unusual for the ground to be covered with white for weeks at a time. https://videopress.com/v/ewIVqeKl?preloadContent=metadata Here's what snow sounds like underfoot at zero degrees Fahrenheit, and my… Continue reading The February Book Talk Where Friends Come in from the Cold
Two words have a way of melting hearts and building a bridge between people--no matter how marked or seemingly insoluble their differences: "You Matter" When we manage to see a beating heart behind words that inflame our anger or challenge our patience, we begin to engage faithfully as Jesus did when he wore out his… Continue reading How to Engage Faithfully in Our Fractured World
The philosophical underpinnings of Christianity point the way to a community where each one competes to show maximum honor and respect to the others. The Bible describes a rule of life that values individuals as carriers of the image of God and the church gathered as a place to be refueled for maximum impact when… Continue reading What if Christians Became the Best Advertisement for Jesus?
Living Our Days 