Fostering a new renaissance through creativity, authenticity, spirituality, and art
– Bonnie Ware, was a palliative nurse, caring for many dying people during the last weeks of their lives. 19809
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1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
In recent weeks I’ve been pondering the list below, posted by my brother-in-law on Facebook. I regularly do pretty well on about half of them, and at least one of them is a huge struggle for me. Do you want to join me in earnestly trying to do all ten daily?
Often we think of heaven as an arrival, either here or hereafter, but wisdom eventually teaches us that actually it is more about the journey than the destination. Today when praying, I considered the possibility that heaven was that marvelous long sought after moment when our ultimate potential has been fulfilled. What then, though, I … Read more
“Our ordinary mind always tries to persuade us that we are nothing but acorns and that our greatest happiness will be to become bigger, fatter, shinier acorns; but that is of interest only to pigs. Our faith gives us knowledge of something much better: that we can become oak trees.” E.F. Schumacher Sept/Oct Quest Magazine … Read more
I found this quote by Umair Haique in the Harvard Business Review blog encouraging: “If America wants to create the future… it’s going to have to prefer to buy stuff that offers real benefits, to work on stuff of real worth, to invest rather than just speculate, to educate and dedicate its time, energy, and … Read more
I have studied the story of the tower of Babel before. To me it is a lesson about getting so ahead of oneself with one’s own abilities that you forget about God. It’s about being so full of yourself that you work for your own gain instead of for God’s glory. It is about pride … Read more
My Father-in-law and brother-in-law were and are active Rotarians. James’ dad gave me a poster of their “Four-way Test” that I love, and it has an honored spot up in my office. This is a wonderful test for the things we choose to think, and say and do: Is it Truth? Is it fair to … Read more
Very timely for me, I read today the book of Ecclesiastes from the Message version of the Bible. Below I quote from the translator’s preface to the book and then a bit of the text. Interestingly, “Vanities” was repeatedly translated as “spitting in the wind.” I loved that. “Ecclesiastes is a famous witness to this … Read more
I just want to say that any of you that still have got me on a pedestal, you better just go ahead and get me off of it. I can’t take one more person saying, “I don’t know how you do it all.” Truth is, I don’t. I’ve got scads of unprocessed piles and legions … Read more
I am a regular contributor to the Danbury News Times Forum on Faith column, which is also picked up by the Connecticut Post and the Stamford Advocate. Here is today’s article: Life Lessons are Everywhere, if You’re Watching How is your summer going? Aside from a few blistering days, we’ve had some great weather. I’ve … Read more
I was reminded recently of something heard years ago in a Presbyterian sermon that has set me pondering over the years, and I realized that you may find it relevant to think about as well: “Tradition is the living faith of those now dead, traditionalism is the dead faith of those now living.” So, what … Read more
I’ve recently been speaking with some wonderful women about both parenting and homeschooling. This has underscored for me some differences in my approaches, which are serving me well. And while parenting three teenagers is not without its bumps and exasperating moments, I am not tearing my hair out, nor throwing up my hands, as some … Read more
Secrets of Beauty “For attractive lips, speak words of kindness. For lovely eyes, seek out the goodness in people. For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry. For beautiful hair, let a child run his or her fingers through it once a day. For poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never … Read more
I just dropped my son off at Crystal Lake Camp for two weeks of “Leadership Training” (extended canoe, backpacking & solo trips) to be immediately followed by four weeks as a counselor in training. (My youngest daughter is at camp right now in Colorado – mountain biking and white water rafting – so my husband … Read more
Purge Belief and Wear Only Understanding It is clear that the opposite of Truth is error. A mistake like 2+2=5 is also an error; errors defy Principle. It is not so obvious, however, that “Error is belief without understanding.”* I used to believe there were good beliefs and bad beliefs. But it turns out that … Read more
One of my spiritual mentors, Virginia Harris (CSB), was interviewed in this little book Life Messages for Moms. I thought I’d share some of what she had to say in this book about motherhood, to support all you moms out there on Mother’s Day. Like me, she is a mother of three… • “I don’t … Read more