A great Rabbi died. He had been revered and loved by his congregation. After his death, it was decided that the Rabbi's son, himself a Rabbi, would take his father's place.This pleased the congregation, for the son would be "just…
A farmer walks along the furrowed row, stopping every three feet, to place a potato start into the soil. His young son keeps pace, on the opposite side of the furrow, weighted with a burlap sack of starts, wholehearted in…
As I write this, I’m relishing revisiting an article I had clipped, with a photo of the man giving this testimonial: "It made me feel like a human being again."Wow. Is he referring to a church? To a mandatory therapy…
“Oh the land of the cloudless day,” Willie sings. The music is cranked up, of course, to the level that makes your heart swell. And I smile big, thinking how I prefer my life and my stories that way; with…
Another week when so many in our world feel alarmed or exhausted, scrambling in their minds to make sense of it all.And I know this; when I’m tired, I prefer my head in the sand.After all, “What can I do…
I believe in the healing power of revisiting. Returning to stories—in books and movies and parables—that have reminded us that hope and joy and renewal are alive and well. Stories that ground us in the gifts of sufficiency and wholeness.…
During the Bosnian War, Serbs surrounded the city of Sarajevo. And the people of Sarajevo knew that sniper fire could kill anyone, indiscriminate; whether they stood in a bread line or were collecting a child from school.Even so, in the…
Reverend Otis Moss (senior pastor at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago) tells a story about a time when he and his church were under attack, some years ago. They were receiving dozens of death threats every week, “We’re…
The Sunday-school teacher asked her 10-year-old students if they would be willing to give $1,000,000 to missionary work for children and families in need."Yes," they all screamed in unison."Very good. Would you give $1000?""Yes!""Good. Would you give $1?"The class responded,…
An elderly carpenter is eager to retire. He tells his employer (a very well-respected contractor) of his plans to leave the house-building business. He wishes to live a more leisurely life with his wife and extended family. He knows he…
