This year, I didn’t meet my reading goal. I joined the Goodreads Reading Challenge and set my goal to read 100 books by the end of the year. I read 88. It would be easy to look at this picture of the quippy, “Better luck next time!” and feel disappointed or discouraged. It would be …
Every year, I join the Goodreads Book Challenge. This year for the first time, I increased my goal to 100 books. I didn’t quite make it this year, but even so, I have set the same goal for 2023. As I conclude the year, I take the time to think and reflect on the books …
Each year, I conclude the year with a word or phrase that has followed me throughout the year. I know for many it’s starting the year with a word that sets intention and purpose, but for me, the practice has always been powerful as a reflection on the last year. It reminds me that there …
We have made it through the darkest night. Slowly, day by day, we will begin to add light to our days from here on. Even as we know this in our minds, what do we when darkness lingers? For many, this Christmas season brings the first one without a loved one or with a new …
We cling to hope – Even when the world seems hopeless. We rest in peace – Even when the world urges us to hustle and bustle. We find joy – Even when sorrow and sickness surround us. We bask in love – The love you sent to this world, In the form of the Christ …
As we celebrated our hanging of the greens service, I was reminded of two years ago when I decorate in a silent sanctuary not to gather to celebrate the coming of the Light of the World, but instead to set a background for the numerous videos and reflections I would record in order to celebrate …
This past year of ministry has been walking close to grief both personally and as I walk with so many people grieving the loss of loved ones, the loss of plans, and the loss of the way we lived before COVID. Although it may sound like a year filled with sadness, it has actually been …
In the Fall, we always go apple picking on a Friday afternoon. We go to the same apple orchard, take a picture by the same photo op with the cute measurement, and on the tractors by the barn. We get apple cider and apple donuts, a kind of salute to cooler weather and the beginning …
Last Sunday, as we celebrated All Saints Sunday, I read the name of my own dad as one of the saints to remember on this high and holy day. It was not the first time in my years of memory that I have read someone’s name who was difficult to read. It is always difficult …
All Hallow’s Eve is a time when the veil between night and day is thin. People are dressed and masked taking on personas they have encountered in books, shows, and movies. You might walk right by your neighbor and not recognize them. Pumpkins turn into faces alight with personalities and feelings that gourds don’t normally …
