I was reminded the other day of a Sunday school tune, based on Matthew 6:33, that I had learned to sing as a child. The song came to mind as my fiancée and I were sharing childhood memories and humming tunes we knew on a bus ride home. (Yes, we have odd conversations)...
A few months ago, I was standing in the changing room of our gym when one of the members started complaining about the parking. During busy times, there usually isn’t enough parking for the number of people who belong there. As I listened, I was agreeing in my head. I’ve...
I have a birthday this month, which puts me far enough into my forties to know that 40 is not the new 30. I definitely feel different than I did in my thirties. If I don’t work out for one week, it will be markedly harder the next time I exercise. If I over-indulge while on...
My childhood experience of church was of a hungry institution that always wanted more. I grew up in a Chinese immigrant church where attendance always hovered around 100 people, but the number of people who served regularly was much smaller. For my parents, who both came from...
I think my life might have been changed by a movie this year. A movie I watched—and then experienced. Last fall, at a retreat for Christian leaders, I watched what started out as the slowest movie ever. Babette’s Feast is set in the nineteenth century on the northern...
In my line of work, I tend sheep. I think about what they need and find ways to feed, shelter, and protect them. I spend time getting to know them—learning about their backgrounds, their dreams, and their fears. I comfort them when they are afraid. I bind up their wounds. And I...
Over the last ten years, one of the most encouraging practices in my life as a follower of Jesus is my monthly conversation with a spiritual director. The director I work with is a woman who, among other things, has a degree in Jungian psychology. As such, I find she often says things...
I was looking forward to meeting a couple of my friends for lunch the other day. I rarely go out to lunch, but they asked and I love to be included, so off I went. It was nice to get out of the office. It was a beautiful, sunny day. I was listening to KLove radio and had the windows...
Once again, my blog post is slated on the heels of another high point in the church’s liturgical year and a high point in my own discontent. This time, we celebrated Passover with a Seder meal and I actually cried during the service. (Note that I say “actually...
Jesus, I am resting, resting, in the joy of what thou art,I am finding out the greatness of thy loving heart.- From “Jesus, I Am Resting,” by Jean Sophia Pigott (1876) Do you see? Do you see? All the people sinking down.Do you care? Do you care? Are you going to...