Continuing with the Advent candle theme, the third candle represents joy. If you’re familiar with the Enneagram, I’m a “7 Wannabe.” 7’s tend to have a sense of optimism, freedom and adventure.Read More…

The Advent wreath holds candles representing hope, peace, joy and love. Beautiful things. The most beautiful things in the world. But I gotta admit…I have trouble believing in “peace on earth.” LookRead More…

Advent candles apparently had their start in Germany, where children would stick a small candle into a decorated orange. Since then, a lot of families and churches have picked up on theRead More…

It’s Thanksgiving Day and there’s so much to be thankful for. When I say I’m thankful for something, it’s usually something I didn’t manufacture. It’s a gift. A blessing. (We tend toRead More…

I’ve been thinking about getting better…as a country (since we’re collectively at a change point), as the Church (for those of us who are part of it and want it to beRead More…

I feel a bit of a shift after the midterm election. It’s tiny. It’s not across-the-board. But there’s peace, at least so far. Maybe civil war isn’t looming after all. Pluralism isRead More…

There’s this thing called “The Decalogue for a Spirituality of Nonviolence,” written by two Franciscan peacemakers. Here are the last three points of the decalogue.   “To be ready to suffer, perhapsRead More…

What if we all discovered that we only hear half the truth? Wouldn’t that be bizarre? How could we make decisions? How could we know what is real? I think we’ve officiallyRead More…

Sometimes I can’t see the forest for the trees, but sometimes I can’t see the trees for the forest. There are various ways of seeing things like trees. I’m not talking aboutRead More…

My “fragile ego radar” wasn’t well-developed as a child. I’d be around a mean person and mistake them for a strong person. If I did 99 things right but they pointed outRead More…