Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays. Our family usually makes an effort to come together around a shared meal. Additionally, we have a whole day set aside to count our blessings! There is something about it that is very uplifting. Think about what gratitude does to us… I would invite you to […]
Even early scientists believed that a person’s facial expression could influence his or her moods. Today, studies in biofeedback confirm that belief. If you smile, even if it is forced, you will feel better. Spiritual leader and author Thich Nhat Hanh encourages people to wake up with a smile. He writes, “Smiling helps you approach […]
Sometimes when a beloved passage of scripture becomes overly familiar, we cease to hear it. We become so sure we know what it means that we often fail to hear something new. This is why I enjoy reading various translations of the Bible. Today, I invite you to consider what God is saying to you […]
One of my favorite passages of scripture is found in Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians 5:16-18: Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Very rarely in scripture does Paul, or anyone else for that matter, say this clearly: This is […]
One of my favorite stories in the Bible is the story of Jonah. God calls Jonah to go to Nineveh and preach. Jonah heads the opposite direction. In fact, he runs to the nearest port and jumps on a ship heading to a city on the far side of the known world. I don’t know […]
One evening, there were beautiful seashells scattered across the beach. These shells were not just the usual mix we find in northeast Florida. No, these were unique, and I picked up all kinds of sea treasure. For the next several weeks, every time I’d walk on the beach, I found myself with my head down, […]
Several years ago, I taught a class on spiritual practices, and we came to the topic of fasting. In the class, we reflected on how, for some of us, fasting from food may not be a great idea for health reasons. And for others of us, perhaps really, God could be inviting us to fast […]
Yesterday we reflected on the story in the Gospel of Luke 7:36-50, where a Pharisee named Simon invites Jesus to dinner, and a “sinful” woman shows up uninvited. She comes into the Pharisee’s house, kneels down at Jesus’ feet, and washes them with costly oil and tears. Sometimes I try to identify myself with people […]
In the Gospel of Luke 7:36-50, a Pharisee named Simon invites Jesus to dinner. Luke tells us that a “sinful” woman shows up uninvited. I can just imagine, in a small conservative Jewish town, this woman probably felt pretty ostracized. And yet she’s so moved—so touched in some way by Jesus—that she takes a huge […]
In the message yesterday, I shared with you the Serenity Prayer, which is attributed to the theologian Reinhold Niebuhr. God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. There is a second part to this prayer, and though it […]
