Many have tried to define happiness, but the older I get, the more I believe gratitude is at the heart of true happiness. It’s the “secret sauce” that binds everything else together and makes happiness such a delicious state of mind. “I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; and gratitude is […]
Faith (Connect with God)
All Saints Day: A Bishop’s Meditation
All Saints Day is celebrated on November 1—a time to remember not only the famous and official saints, but also those who have been saints to us in our lives by pointing us in the direction of God. This All Saints Day meditation was written by The Rt. Rev. Porter Taylor, Assisting Bishop of the […]
6 Simple Steps To Building A Relationship With God
“How do I build a relationship with God?” is a question I’m often asked, and it’s tempting to make the process more complicated than it needs to be. This post is revised and updated from its first appearance in 2014. “Good things as well as bad, you know, are caught by a kind of infection. If […]
Fourth of July Reflections on America
Adapted and updated: In 2011, my husband and I made an incredible drive up the coast of California between Los Angeles and San Francisco, with a side trip to Point Reyes National Seashore north of San Francisco and Muir Woods. We enjoyed breathtaking vistas of rugged coastline and walked a trail gazing up at immense […]
Life Is Beautiful…and Hard
Thanks to a recommendation from my highschool friend Becky Rusell, I recently finished reading Kate Bowler’s remarkable and moving book Everything Happens For A Reason: and other lies I’ve loved. (Amazon link) When Kate Bowler was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer, she was 35, happily married, and had a newborn son named Zach. She was […]
Is It Well With Your Soul?
In our time on this earth, we are both body and soul. We are bombarded with advice on how to take care care of our bodies (though many of us do it quite poorly), but the nourishment and care for our souls is not such a mainstream topic. It should be. I have certainly been […]
Book Review: Mary Magdalene Revealed
Subtitle: The First Apostle, Her Feminist Gospel, & the Christianity We Haven’t Tried YetAuthor: Meggan WattersonPublished 20194 stars The author, Meggan Watterson, is a feminist theologian with a Master of Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School and a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary at Columbia University. She has authored or co-authored several other […]
“He’s Alive!” — Easter Morning’s Powerful Cry
From abject fear to utter joy and liberation After the horror of Jesus’s crucifixion, suffering, and death, as the disciples huddled in fear and disbelief, imagine how they felt when they first heard the joyful cry, “He’s Alive!” Our churches don’t often dwell on the awful time between the suffering and death of Jesus on […]