Learning Peace

How beautiful upon the mountainsare the feet of the messenger who announces peace,who brings good news,who announces salvation,who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns.’ (Isaiah 52:7)The last week of June around 95 youth ages 6-13 participated in the 5th year of Learning Peace: A Camp for Kids. We have had a few bumps, like so many other organizations, these past few years and I always sweat if we will get enough volunteers, if the lunches will be delivered, if the afternoon guests will…

Continue ReadingLearning Peace

Breathe! And Be!

We are currently in the midst of the winter season. Earth itself gives us an opportunity to experience and learn from her wisdom. In this season, life itself slows down. The animals react by conserving their energy and some even hibernate through this cold and desolate time of year. It was snowing so hard that I couldn’t see much farther than half a block down the street. It was a “white out.” The trees have lost their foliage and lie dormant waiting, in…

Continue ReadingBreathe! And Be!

Love As a Verb

As we honor the life of Martin Luther King Jr. I am first drawn to the words from Saint Francis of Assisi…Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood…

Continue ReadingLove As a Verb

All the Days of My Life

I’m struggling to find words to encapsulate all the thoughts and feelings I’ve had this week in a way that makes sense for a devotion. The world is overwhelming. There is so much outside of me that leaves me bewildered and exhausted. On top of that, there is just as much going on inside of me that keeps me similarly bewildered and exhausted. Answers are not easy to come by these days. The cry of “Why?” endures.Yet, I have found myself in prayer.…

Continue ReadingAll the Days of My Life

The Fruits of Pentecost

…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, gentleness, self-control…Galatians 5:22-23Today we celebrate Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit to the followers of Jesus as they huddled together in the Upper Room. Jesus had ascended to the Father and the promised Advocate came to the disciples through wind and tongues of fire, landing on each one individually (today’s first reading—Acts 2:1-21). It must have been quite a scene! The mystery and marvels continued with those receiving the Holy…

Continue ReadingThe Fruits of Pentecost

Little Pleasures

“A silent mind is all you need.” Eastern MeditationHappiness starts with how we look at ourselves. Feelings are our happiness gauge. How we handle the wide range of our emotional life depends on how we accept and appreciation ourselves and our “body feelings.” Feelings such as fear, anxiety, insecurity, as well as good feelings of pleasure, acceptance, or satisfaction can be the barometers of our being.It is not easy for us to look deeply into ourselves, to try to understand why we react…

Continue ReadingLittle Pleasures

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.Thank you, God, for my many blessings. I live in and have become accustomed to a lifestyle and culture of excess. I often feel as though I am lacking when I am not. Help me to be content. To feel as if I am enough. Help me not to desire more, but enough. Help me remember what enough is.The Lord makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters.Jesus, my good…

Continue ReadingPsalm 23

Living in Community is Hard Work

“Peace is not when everyone agrees. It is when we can respect our disagreements and still play in the sandbox together.” Unknown Tweet My neighborhood loves fireworks. The 4th of July fireworks start several days before the 4th, and last until several days after the 4th. The 4th of July in 2020 was especially noisy with fireworks lasting several hours. New Year’s Eve 2020 fireworks started well before midnight and lasted until 2 am. When we walked through our neighborhood on New Year’s…

Continue ReadingLiving in Community is Hard Work

Love Bats Last

Nonviolence is absolute commitment to the way of love. Love is not emotional bash; it is not empty sentimentalism. It is the active outpouring of one’s whole being into the being of another. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Today our country celebrates the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I can’t think of a better way to begin this historic week than by honoring Dr. King and his message of nonviolence. Our country has experienced heartbreaking violence and yet there is hope…

Continue ReadingLove Bats Last

Winter Solstice

Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years; Genesis 1:14 NAS To Him who made the great lights, for his lovingkindness is everlasting. The sun to rule by day, for his lovingkindness is everlasting. The moon and the stars to rule by night, for his lovingkindness is everlasting. Psalm 136:7-9 NAS This morning at 3:02 AM MST,…

Continue ReadingWinter Solstice

Now What?

In the past week my heart and my prayers have been all over the map. I've experienced gratitude and wonder, fear and anxiety, relief. But never true peace. Peace eludes me. I have spoken to friends and acquaintances who tell me the same thing. That peace feels out of reach. Our contentious election is over, but in its wake comes the unspoken question, "Now what?" How do we begin to come together as a nation? How do we work together to stop the spread…

Continue ReadingNow What?

I Wait for the Lord

"I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,and in his word I hope;my soul waits for the LORDmore than those who watch for the morning,more than those who watch for the morning.O Israel, hope in the LORD!For with the LORD there is steadfast love,and with him is great power to redeem.It is he who will redeem Israelfrom all its iniquities" (Psalm 130:5-8).Nehemiah stepped from the last stair up onto the watchtower. Daniel was there, waiting to be relieved. Some evenings Daniel would loiter…

Continue ReadingI Wait for the Lord

Stepping Back

“Be at peace among yourselves”1 Thessalonians 5:23b“May grace and peace be yours in abundance”1 Peter 1:2cRecently, as I was skimming through the list of various responses to Facebook posts that I had made that day I had a revelation. It sounds so simple and logical that I’m almost embarrassed to share it. While most of my friends on Facebook and I share the same political views, I do have several friends who are the polar opposite of me. I also have a couple…

Continue ReadingStepping Back

The Red Six of Spades

When I was an undergraduate in psychology, all the Psych 101 students had the opportunity to participate in an experiment for extra credit. Being a budding social scientist, I was curious and frankly needed some extra credit, so I signed up for an experiment.  This is what I was asked to do. I sat down at a table and an experimenter took an ordinary deck of playing cards and flashed six of them at me. She flashed them quickly asking me to identify…

Continue ReadingThe Red Six of Spades