Saturday Mornings

Just because you use Scripture , even in a God-affirming way, does not mean you are using Scripture for life and love , growth and wisdom —...

Five and half years ago, Hurricane Maria was destroying Puerto Rico. I was signing books.  Yes, the very night that one of the worst hurrica...

The sooner we start doing more of what we like to do, the better. In some ways, it's pretty simple — you get good at the things you spen...

Time to dust off the old turntable, vinyl records are having a major comeback.  For the first time in more than three decades, vinyl records...

Against the back-drop of the drama of our times, this cuts to the chase.... ' Poem for the week' -- "At a Window": Give m...

There is a question I have learned to ask myself when I am feeling bothered about others:  am I holding myself to the same standard I am dem...

And, lying to the public for financial gain is not a problem? So, where did all the adults go? You know, the ones who are supposed to set ...

Know how to listen , and you will profit even from those who talk badly. -- Plutarch

I've noticed ...as I’m getting older , that I have to more consciously put myself in a position to see things that are unfamiliar to m...

Instagram:  richvillodas What’s if at the end of history, the question God asks us is not whether we abstained from sin.   What if the qu...

It goes without saying (at least, it should), the world is an amazing place. Even the inanimate of it (assuming that label is even truly the...

More than a feel-good state of mind, happiness is described by the U.N. as a “fundamental human goal.” It comes with myriad benefits, incl...

You never know what you can do until you try, and very few try unless they have to.  -- C.S. Lewis

It seems that prayer is, in the end, really about communion. A union of myself with God that seems like a joining with power; a joining wit...

Aging is an extraordinary process whereby you become the person that you always should have been. -- David Bowie

Ever noticed ...how one thing leads to another (good and bad)?

It is ever a new thing, a glad  surprise , the stirring of life at the end of winter. One day there seems to be no sign of life and then alm...

Seeking the truth and being in control, are not the same thing — ironically those seeking control are too often trying to use truth as leve...

AXIOS

On the Lighter Side : Thesaurus.com was probably the star of yesterday’s Supreme Court oral arguments, in which attorneys for Jack Daniel’s ...

If you are distressed, by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it. -- Marcus Aurelius

When facing something unknown of perceived consequence, I've noticed I have certain tendencies.  I tend to start thinking about somethin...

You never know who’s swimming naked until the tide goes out. -- Warren Buffett

I'm wondering ...is expression a fundamental need of the human experience? W hether we want to believe it or not, there is something ab...

Jesus's resurrection is the beginning of God's new project not to snatch people away from earth to heaven, but to colonize earth wi...

Ultimately, why do we remain so confused about suffering ?  Is it because of a somewhat misunderstood notion we’ve inherited or developed th...

Instagram:  sandravanopstal The passion is really the mystery of all mysteries, the heart of the Christian faith experience. By the word ...

How often do you ask yourself how you  are doing? Even though it can be somewhat rare to do, we often only think about such a question when ...

It's not your job to be likable.  It's your job to be yourself.  Someone will like you anyway. -- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Those who fiercely defend the status quo are those who benefit most from it. -- Simon Sinek

I’ve noticed ...that my capacity to hurt people seems greater when I am hurting.

Our age has come to expect satisfaction . We have grown up in an absolutely unique period when having and possessing and accomplishing have ...

When you  walk , you have the time to notice the sights and sounds of things — like the cycles of life starting back up again...see more not...

Being is not something you are, it is something you...have. -- Cynthia  Bourgeault Many of us feel paralyzed as to how to live into transfor...

AXIOS

On the merits of taking a walk: Walking is man’s best medicine. -- Hippocrates Thoughts come clearly while one walks. -- Thomas Mann I took ...

When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves. -- Viktor E. Frankl

AXIOS A new Wall Street Journal-NORC poll exposes generational and political divides that echo loudly and transformatively across our cult...

People  change  for two reasons.  Either their mind has been opened or their heart has been broken. -- Steven Aitchison

Ever noticed ...how integrated your sense of well-being is?  When your well-being or sense of it is good, it tends to be good in most of th...

The most difficult things seem to create the deepest impressions in us. It's not what you've heard or know about that matters; it...

We must here make a clear distinction between belief and faith, because, in general practice, belief has come to mean a state of mind which ...

Can you believe this? How is it even possible?   The share of Republicans who believe President Joe Biden didn’t legitimately win the 2020...