Saturday Mornings

In times of crisis, people reach for meaning . Meaning is strength. Our survival may depend on our seeking and finding it. -- Viktor E. F...

There appears to be a kind of comfort in routine .  So, it can be uncomfortable when routine is disrupted.  But, it seems, we invariably ret...

Trust is built on telling the truth , not telling people what they want to hear. -- Simon Sinek This seems like a generally true maxim...

Ever noticed ...what's happening when one person sees a closed old gas station, while someone else sees a building with big doors to ope...

Do we know that within each one of us is the unspeakably beautiful beat of the Sacred? Do we know that we can honor that Sacredness in one a...

When I was young I always deferred to people older than me and thought they knew better. And now, I feel like I'm learning more from pe...

' Poem selection' for the week -- "In April": Again the woods are odorous, the lark  Lifts on upsoaring wings the hea...

It is just true that other people have perspectives that are just as good as mine—some are even better. OK.  So, what's your point......

It's the 50th anniversary of  Earth Day —the cause that drew 20 million people into the streets. This was not an anti-litter campaig...

Hurt feelings don't vanish on their own.  They don't heal themselves.  If we don't express our emotions , they pile up like a d...

I've noticed ...sometimes I can see more of myself, when I see myself in others.

When the ego weeps for what it has lost, the spirit rejoices for what it has found. -- Sufi Proverb

Visual  - "Between": Winona Lake, IN

...a delightful cover that has musically captured some of our family imagination these days.

A fascinating piece on some of the economic impacts of COVID-19 :

‘ Poem for the week' -- "An Adieu" (it looks like it will take one more day before April in Indiana will give up its  Winter...

Human  Solidarity : I am not alone in my tiredness or sickness or fears, but at one with millions of others from many centuries, and it is...

Experience is our best teacher—the question is, what are we learning ? What are we learning, right now?  Time (or times like this) is not...

It is not our abilities that show who we really are, it is our choices . -- Albus Dumbledore

...sometimes music just shoots right through (whether you understand the words or not).

The larger-than-life, spiritually transformed people I have met have all died before they died. It is true that you are going to die, an...

On what might have to (symbolically) be the darkest day of the year, Holy Saturday ; a metaphor for the times in our lives when all hope s...

On Holy Friday  (original meaning of the 'good' in Good Friday), a reminder—even as much as we try to avoid it... suffering  IS the ...

Dear friends, look at the real heroes who come to light in these days: they are not famous, rich and successful people; rather, they are tho...

About a year ago , I experienced a little of what it feels like to be unwelcome . I have to admit, I’d never known what that feels like, a...

Leadership is a not a fancy quote, an academic understanding, or something you just talk about; it is something you actually do ...on a dai...

Ever noticed ...that volume doesn't make things more true? ...neither does repetition. ...neither does passion . ...though, all of...

Instagram:  sarcasticlutheran And this is it.  This is the life we get here on earth.  We get to give away what we receive.  We get to ...

The way we feel can be triggered by outside events. And that can change how we act. And the way we act can reinforce how we feel. O...

Those who know WHAT they do tend to work harder. Those who know WHY tend to work smarter. -- Simon  Sinek

Remember all this? Ninety days ago we stepped into a new decade arguing over whether it was actually a new decade. Today, we’re in a m...

The USNS Comfort sailed into New York Harbor on yesterdayin the best grand entrance since Willy Wonka. The Navy's hospital ship, home...

I've noticed ...that it is rare for me to be de-sensitized to just one thing.

It is not in perfection that we reach the divine, but through the gateway of our mistakes and our suffering . -- Mirabai Starr

As much as we’d like to believe that Jesus is the author of our Right Christian and Wrong Christian distinctions, we can’t because it is...

...the war between health and the economy is underway. This is pretty cool!  Tonight is Earth Hour, a global movement that encourages...

‘ Poem for the week' -- "Breathe": Breathe. Go on and live your unexpected life. Inhale love. Exhale surrender . Tr...

If you plan to build a tall house of virtues, you must first lay deep foundations of humility . -- Anonymous

Particularly striking, in light of what things looked like just a few weeks ago. Today is the first day of our Governor's (Indiana)...

Until recently, the range of our knowing has been limited by our experience , with the relatively small group of people that, for whatever r...

Ever noticed ...that it is one thing to know about something and quite another kind of knowing to experience it?

As we grow in the spiritual life, our life will become increasingly centered. Only a few things will really matter. Because of the coronavi...

On the Lighter Side :

New York was still making money a week ago. A few people wearing masks, some closings, but generally business as usual. And then we tumble...

Is this what it feels like without community & friendships ? ‘ Poem for the week' -- "Outcast": For the dim regions w...

Sparked by some of the impacts of COVID-19 , I've been thinking more about the nature of communities and the relationship between the id...

...the most daring thing is to create stable communities in which the terrible disease of loneliness can be cured. -- Kurt  Vonnegut

I'm wondering ...is there anything that shapes us, or re-makes us, more than love ?

We  implore  you on Christ’s behalf: Be  reconciled  to God. All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave u...

Through the lens of the Enneagram we have greater self-knowledge and the ability to let go of what only seems good in order to discove...

From:   COVID-19 #Coronavirus Data Pack What seems to be really going on and the fight over it: Italy’s Health Care System Groans...

From Michiana Chronicles : My daughter spent a lot of her spare time this winter wrapped up against the cold on the streets of downtown ...

...how far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tole...

My recent knee surgery had a goal, at least in my mind.  It was pretty straight-forward:  to be able to run again, pain-free. I have lear...

Employees who exercise regularly are 25% more focused, driven , and efficient than those who don't.  -- Gary Sorrell

I've noticed ...though I too often tend to chafe against it, slowness can have its own kind of  joy . My recent knee surgery has slowe...

I love the recklessness of faith . First you leap, and then you grow wings. -- William Sloane Coffin

The only way to get initiative is to take it. It’s never given. And some people hesitate to take it, perhaps because they’re worried that...

Believing that spirituality is just about transcendence, and not about the here and now, allows us to excuse ourselves from intervening in t...

Many people believe they cannot afford (to risk) change .  And, it seems even more believe it is just too hard to embrace its disruption, e...