Category: Speaking to the Soul

“And in the quiet of the night as we rock our little ones and say a prayer, may we know, too, that you hold and embrace us.”

“So the Annunciation is about a lot more than the mechanics of bringing Jesus into the world to fulfill Jewish prophecy concerning his lineage… It is the portal into the depth of the mystery, the one which guides our life through the Holy Spirit, the one which promises life eternal for those who embrace the Christ in love and obedience.”

“I am aware that I am arguing with Jesus, but he’s a rabbi and can handle it. The pastor in me answers the theodicy question differently from Jesus. We live in a broken world that contains evil like the oceans contain water.”

“God is not always going to tell us when the weather is going to be absolutely monstrous. The weather forecasters still can’t be one hundred percent accurate either, despite the knowledge they have of weather and weather patterns, signs and signals from satellites, and other types of monitoring equipment.”

“In short, I realized that I could also kneel in an attitude of playfulness and joy. The action of kneeling did not have to be solely one of penitence and sorrow, it could also be full an act of that deep joy and awe that can cause me to cry tears of happiness.”

“This is a common thread through the Gospels: no one can serve two masters, so we need to figure out who and what is most important to us.  We need to count up the cost of discipleship and either commit all the way or do something else with our lives.”

“I can’t help but wonder what each person is holding as they walk to church.”

“As the Cross will lead to the Resurrection. We are called to turn, exposing ourselves to the unpleasant, often very painful, vulnerability of our flawed and messy lives. We are called to accept God’s love and mercy.”

“I realized that the furious energy I put into sewing on that day was an outlet for the stress and worry. It was a powerful realization that I could take the fizzing, negative energy of worry, stress, and anxiety and turn it into something positive and useful (pants, in my case).”