Gratitude and Grace
Retired Time
Today is my birthday: a watershed year. I have gone through several stages to get used to the thought, but now I’m beginning to embrace it. It has taken a while to acknowledge that television personalities and company executives are usually younger than my husband and me. Our “kids” not only became full adults long…
Read MoreMultitasking
Multitasking is something much of our North American work world takes for granted. I used to be proud of how much of it I could do, in my ministry and in the family. (What can I say? I’m an unrepentant “J” in Myers-Briggs language.) I even excelled in doing it mentally. I used to say,…
Read MoreBalancing Act
There’s no such thing as perfect balance – for human beings, anyway. Some Olympians or other world-class performers may be able to achieve perfection for a single routine, a crystalline moment. But we cannot live in an exactly balanced state. It’s always an active rebalancing, one step this way or that. It’s true with ethical…
Read MoreThe Gratitude Effect
“Gratitude has the power to heal, to energize, and to change lives,” said researcher Robert Emmons at the June 7th Greater Good Gratitude Summit. “We’re here to celebrate the science and the spirit of gratitude.” While gratitude may be a familiar topic in religious circles, these comments came from a professor of psychology at U.C.…
Read MoreBook Festival Community
The Gold Country Book Festival, in Auburn, California, was a great experience of community. Writing can feel like a solo occupation, so it’s wonderful when writers and readers get together to celebrate the written word. On Saturday, May 17th, the Placer County Library hosted 35 of us local writers in its leafy courtyard throughout the…
Read MoreContent Curation
Recently I ran into a new word: “curated.” Oh sure, I’ve known museum “curators,” who are in charge of handling all the museum’s treasures. But these days the word “curate” is being used in some new ways. One use of the word is in “content curation,” in contrast to “content creation.” Whereas content creation is…
Read MoreStewards of God’s Mysteries
Easter is the season, more than any other, when God takes our breath away with the sheer mystery of God’s overwhelming grace. In the face of Jesus’ resurrection, none of us can stand on our own two feet before God. It’s overwhelming enough to reflect on God’s self-giving love in Jesus’ life and death for…
Read MoreThrowing Open the Door
I’ve been thinking recently about what constitutes abundant life in our daily living. Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase of Romans 5:1-7 (The Message) says that when we throw open our door to God, we discover that God has already thrown open God’s door to us. “We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand –…
Read MoreControl and Obsession
Okay, so I admit I’m obsessive-compulsive about some things. Like where the pots and pans go in the kitchen, and some of my daily routines. But I’ve never forgotten what a speaker said years ago: when we’re obsessive, the key is to choose what to be obsessive about. Instead of trying to control our boss’s…
Read MoreMeans of Grace
“Discipline” can be a scary word. Even when we hear it in churches, as in “spiritual disciplines,” our first instinct might be that it’s punishment or obligation. When that unconscious reaction happens, it’s hard to respond out of a place of gratitude and joy. So maybe it’s better to say “framework” or means of grace.…
Read MorePalpable Presence
What an outstanding experience I had recently — training the first half of our Stewardship Associates and meeting with all of them by phone! These nine people from across the United States will help teach stewardship and generosity in the local church. The first event we are offering is a workshop called “Annual Funding and…
Read MoreGrace and Temptation
I hate being sick. When I do get sick, my temptation is to refuse to acknowledge the reality that would allow me to rest and focus on healing. When I engage in such denial, I try to plow ahead with my own plans, and then get worse. Use of the word “temptation” here is deliberate,…
Read MorePersonal Connection to Mission
His white-whiskered face lit up. “I’ve been a Volunteer-in-Mission for years,” he said, citing how many times he had gone to Louisiana to help after the hurricanes. Hands-on ministry isn’t just for folks in their twenties. People of all ages engage with both head and heart when they get their own two hands involved. Personal…
Read MoreStewards of Grace
Sunlight peeks through smoky pearl skies. Raindrops shimmer, suspended from fine, fragile pine tips. Creation awaits fulfillment in the One who is to come, God incarnate. We are “servants of Christ and stewards of God’s mysteries,” called to be found trustworthy and faithful (1 Corinthians 4:1). How can we possibly be worthy of trust in…
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