We were setting up for Sunday service a couple of weeks ago, with the usual bustle of preparation — sweeping, brewing coffee, unfolding chairs, stuffing songbooks, setting the lights and music. My friend Bryn was arranging materials on the information…
A few weeks ago, I was scheduled to meet a new patient, a lady with advanced dementia who lives in a memory-care facility. I called her daughter beforehand to see if she was able to be there for this introduction,…
Thomas Merton wrote, “Those who are not thankful soon begin to complain of everything.” What I love about this is that he takes thankfulness for granted. He assumes it. Which is such a hopeful expectation for human being: thanksgiving as…
On one of the social media platforms, a woman posted: “One time my dog found a discarded chicken sandwich in a hedge while we were on our morning walk. So every day since, for the past 10 years, we have…
I don’t use the word “hallow” much. Practically never. I might change that. I’m familiar with the idea of hallowed ground, of course, but I can’t remember ever describing anyplace as such. And I know the phrase “Hallowed be Thy…
I came across an article from a few years ago, by designer-writer-consultant Paul Jarvis. I saved this piece because it was provocative and challenging. I used to read Jarvis’s newsletters regularly for encouragement and advice about creativity and organizational leadership…
Travis and I were sharing a bottle of wine on the outside deck of a tasting room on Stearns Wharf, the pier in Santa Barbara, a couple of weeks ago. It was a perfectly beautiful afternoon, nearing sunset on the…
A few years ago, my friend Denise shared with me a wonderful story about St. Francis of Assisi: The town of Gubbio had a serious problem. An enormous lone wolf was eating the villagers’ sheep. Several people tried to stop…
To move heaven and earth means to be relentless, to go to the greatest lengths, to give it everything we’ve got. It conveys incredible commitment, impressive strength, and heroic determination. The phrase is deliberate exaggeration or hyperbole. We’re not supposed…
