When I was a little girl, one of my favorite things to do was sit with my great-grandma in her cozy little den and listen to her memories of growing up in Chickasha, Oklahoma. She was born in 1884 so by the time I came along and was old enough to sit still and listen, […]
Read more "Remembering Well"Twenty years ago now, I was nearing the end of my seminary coursework and preparing to start a semester of practicum, known as CPE, or Clinical Pastoral Education. This is the time where all the concepts and theories and techniques students have learned come to life in full color. With real people, who have real […]
Read more "Tiny Truthful Moments"It’s so good to have you all with us on World Quaker Day! All over the world just now, on different continents and in different time zones, Quakers are gathering together and celebrating and sharing the essence of the growing faith that animates and unfolds our lives. If you are new to Quakerism, you might […]
Read more "God-with-Us: Stories of Faith"In a fast-moving world that is full to bursting with opinions and marketing spin, isn’t it a relief to get a clear, yes-or-no answer to a question we care about? The “simple, unvarnished truth”—even if it is something we’d rather not hear—rings true and something within us relaxes when we get the answer. Our hearts […]
Read more "Yes and No"Isn’t it nice to have free time? Time when nothing is scheduled, no one expects you to be anywhere, there’s nothing you absolutely have to do. It’s all your choice. Paint a picture, repot a plant, take a nap, watch a show, you get to decide what to do with the free moments stretching out […]
Read more "Flourishing & Free"When you were a kid at the pool in the summer, did you ever play the game Marco Polo? It’s really fun if you have a few friends with you and it’s even more fun if it’s a hot and beautiful day and the pool is crowded, because then you can all scatter in different […]
Read more "Marco Polo, God’s Way"PALM SUNDAY Today our scripture is based on one of my favorite stories about Jesus: The Triumphal Entry. I’m not sure why I love it so much, except that it is such a pinnacle moment for Jesus, such a cinematic scene, filled with color and movement, celebration and joy. It is a high point in […]
Read more "Real Power"Whether you were born into a family of Friends or became a convinced Friend later in life, you know that there are some things about our tradition that make us different from other Protestant denominations. First and most obvious is that we don’t do communion in the same way that other Christian churches do; for […]
Read more "If Thine Eye Be Single"Today’s message is about the power of example and the way our lives speak—knowingly or not, and for good or for ill—into the lives of others. We never really know when our actions will leave a lasting impact on someone else. It might be the time we helped someone pick up a bag of groceries […]
Read more "The Power of Presence"Has anyone ever told you to “get real”? Usually this phrase gets tossed into a conversation when one person thinks the other is being unrealistic, perhaps hoping for an outcome that is unlikely to happen. Getting real means opening our eyes to the truth and being willing to see what’s really there. The Cambridge Dictionary […]
Read more "Getting Real"
The Space between the Words 