As an anthropologist and minister, I am always intrigued by animal and human behavior. I think it must be in my DNA because I am unconsciously and eternally fascinated, drawn in and left wondering what is next to unfold as I watch creatures go about their day. I just can’t seem to get enough. [...]
We seem to be deluged with never-ending newspaper and TV coverage about the Syrian/Iraqi refugee crisis and the threat of extremist violence. Each time it shows up in my newsfeed on Facebook, cuts into a TV show I am enjoying, or I hear people in a coffee shop talking about it frantically, I am bombarded [...]
I’m sitting in the cancer center, hooked up to an IV for my iron infusion for the next 6 hours, watching worlds go by. I am in a large room full of recliners, IV stands, rolling carts filled with anything your nurse could need - gauze pads in 6 different sizes, 5 varying lengths and [...]
Finally, here are Lessons 4 and 5. If you've read the other two articles which house Lessons 1, 2 and 3, just scroll down to #4. If you haven't read the first two installments of this little series, you may want to read the intro and first lesson. Lessons 2 and 3 can be found here. I'm [...]
This post is the second part of a series of some lessons surrounding my recent near death experience. If you haven't read the first lesson, you may want to pause here and read the intro - I'm guessing it will help you set the context for what you are about to read. Here's the lessons, [...]
Most of us have heard stories of near-death experiences, also known as NDE. Maybe you’ve listened to someone on Oprah, read it in a book, or witnessed a close friend or relative walk through it. Hell, maybe you’ve had one of your own. My point is that when you read or listen to these stories, [...]
How often have you used the phrase, “it took my breath away?” The other day I pulled over to allow an ambulance safe passage. As I listened to the screaming vehicle fast approaching, the sound literally took my breath away. Finally I saw the ambulance come over the hill and the driver barely looked both [...]
Recently I was gravely ill… I heard my mom use that adjective with someone a few weeks ago when explaining what I had been through. Heavy, burdensome, hard to bear - these are all ways to define the root of the word, and all things I am experiencing. Mostly the “hard to bear” part lately. [...]
The other day I saw a social media post from a spiritual leader that seriously hooked me and within seconds I was completely torqued! Totally pissed me off! Huge judgments running through my mind, and it sat so heavily on me I had to send an email to friend and rant for a couple paragraphs [...]
Did you know that lamenting is a spiritual practice? It is incredibly relevant for Easter, especially Holy Week, when our time of the crucifixion and resurrection is coming to a close. This Easter season I want to talk about lamentations. Why? Because to lament is probably one of the most revolutionary things we can do [...]
At the end of each December I think about intentions I may want to focus on for the next 365 days because I don’t do resolutions. However, I definitely do REVOLUTIONS. That’s what these questions, What if? and Why not? help create for us. I always have the feeling that maybe, just maybe, I am [...]
If you say “Christmas tree” to me or utter the words “Christmas decorations” I immediately become like a 5-year-old and see lights in my mind. I see twinkly, sparkly, dazzling colorful lights all around me. This is one of my most favorite things - the lights at Christmas time. The other night I turned off [...]
It's the end of the second week of Advent, the week we focus on Peace, and I am wondering how much peace everyone is feeling or practicing in light of recent events, both here at home and abroad. Sometimes peace can seem a little out of reach or maybe for a few folks, even difficult [...]
I just can’t take it anymore. I am soooo tired of this crap. And even those words fall short of the level of powerlessness alive in me. Millions of us who, like me, watch with horror, confusion, desperation and helplessness every time there is a mass shooting. This one in San Bernardino less than a [...]
THE SEASON of Advent is about something unknown emerging on the horizon, something we have never seen before. The word “advent” comes from the Latin adventus – to come. There is wondrous and expectant feeling about the very word ‘Advent.’ In the northern hemisphere, Advent takes place during the darkest and coldest time of the [...]
