Gratitude and Grace
“Nourishing Our Souls” was the name of a retreat I attended recently. It was led by colleague and friend Rev. Maggie McNaught. She’s a therapist, spiritual director, and minister, but don’t let that fool you. She doesn’t live inside a conventional religious box. She’s always reaching out for the Spirit, beyond the usual parameters. I…
Read MoreYesterday was the twelfth anniversary of my mom’s passing. I’m proud of her vibrant legacy. She was an intrinsic writer infused with high-energy living. Officially a traditional homemaker until she was fifty. Mom was basically a community advocate and organizer whose commitment arose out of following that radical1 Jesus. She entered Stanford at age sixteen,…
Read MoreLet’s say we believe deeply in God, as many of us do. More than that, at some time we might have prayed for God’s guidance, have experienced God’s presence, and/or have felt and responded to God’s love. What then? How can we stay in love with God?1 In 18th Century England, Christian reformer John Wesley…
Read MoreTrust makes us vulnerable, but it opens the heart to the riches of each moment. A dear friend, Brenda Sue, gave me The Book of Awakening by poet Mark Nepo. In it, each day of the year has a written reflection, but sometimes I choose to range through the daily pages like a treasure hunter…
Read MoreSt. Basil the Great was born in 329 A.D. An influential theologian who supported the Nicene Creed, he was one of the Cappadocian Fathers and a doctor of the Eastern Church. He was known for his prolific writing and his care for the poor. Basil lived out his deep faith in humble service. He taught…
Read MoreAlmost every parent has been there: pressuring their young child to write the obligatory thank-notes to Aunt Charlotte and the next-door neighbor after Christmas or their birthday. But does sending those notes under mild duress make your kids really feel grateful? The fact is: we cannot make children be thankful. We can only make them…
Read MoreGenerosity is grounded in a real sense of gratitude, says Rev. Scott McKenzie, Senior Vice President of Horizons Stewardship Company. He saw it firsthand on a mission service trip to Malawi, in the midst of a famine there. The villagers they had helped – themselves on the edge of starvation – danced and sang and…
Read MoreWritten for Voices and Silences, 2003 Grace, Giftedness, Giving and Growth – these four words, from Clif Christopher and Herb Mather’s book, Holy Smoke!, prompted me to reflect on these themes in my life. For me, they flow in a cycle, a deepening spiral, which begins and ends with God’s grace. From God’s side, it’s…
Read MoreWritten for Giving magazine, Vol. 20 By the Ecumenical Stewardship Center Why Good Things Happen to Good People: How to Live a Longer, Healthier, Happier Life by the Simple Act of Giving By Stephen Post and Jill Neimark “Giving is good medicine,” say Stephen Post and Jill Neimark, authors of Why Good Things Happen to…
Read MoreWe can grow in wisdom if we reflect on and learn from our experience. After writing the chapter on “Growing as Becoming” in Growing Generous Souls, I thought about wisdom as less of an achievement or endpoint, and more as a process of becoming the wise person each of us is meant to be. A…
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