A famous travel writer, visiting Japan, was invited to dine in the home of a well-to-do Japanese Family. Delighted to entertain a well-known visitor, the host invited a number of guests, letting everyone know that this meal would be special…
One my walk this morning, there is a slight lifting of the Spring air so I can smell the earth and the blossoms on the wild cherry trees, and I take possession of my life. (A shout out to May…
A synagogue needed help. They were in dire straights, and morale was low. They called a famous Rabbi to help them sort it out, to offer them insights and give them all the answers to the questions they were asking.…
It’s not easy to make choices when life feels upside down. Let me rephrase this: it’s not easy to feel grounded when the pain in our world feels too real. Visceral even. Even if we are miles away. In other…
By most measures, he was nondescript: a youngish white man in blue jeans, a long-sleeved T-shirt and a Washington Nationals baseball cap. From a small case, he removed a violin. Placing the open case at his feet, he shrewdly threw…
A soldier's young daughter (her father in the process of being transferred and moved to a distant post) sits on the floor in an airport departure lounge, among her family's meager and ragtag belongings. Sleepy, the girl leans against the…
When you wake to 6 inches of snow (and wind chill in the teens), other plans for the day are easily ignored.I smile remembering my Father—in Michigan’s UP—who called 6 inches of snow a “dusting”.When I was a much younger…
I spent the weekend leading a retreat at the Franciscan Renewal Center in Scottsdale, Arizona. A sanctuary in the desert. The retreat theme: Spiritual Hydration and the Gift of Enough. This is the kind of subject that entices you with optimism only to give…
Gene Logsdon's father-in-law had tried his hand at making bootleg whiskey on his Kentucky farm. He washed the leftover runny mash down a sinkhole, thereby destroying the evidence. Or so he thought. One evening at milking time, the cows came…
There are moments in our lives that can change everything. For Chris Orwig, it happened in a tent, at the base of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range in California. A bachelor party; and he was camping with a group of…
