“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” – Anne Frank, March 26th 1944
All morning, I consider this beautiful idea that nobody must wait to start helping and improving the world. I think of my home, my little street, my wider neighborhood, and then further and further out. I ask God to help me help. What might I improve here by my prayers, attitude, acts of service, and friendship? […]
Bursting Out in Song
On the way home from the Walk-to-School, and after the Morning Pep Talk (in which I quoted JimDaddy Miller’s famous line, “You have everything to look forward to and nothing to dread), I began to sing. I hope nobody heard me, but I did seem to attract an unusual number of dogs. I sang the […]
“Because It Will All Be OK”
Today, I ask the students to tell me their names and to answer this question: What were you known for in high school?” A student offered a response I’d never heard. It ranks as my most intriguing response next to the student who said in 2010, “I was known for mediocrity.” A new student says, “I […]
Treasuring Them
Today I learned how badly I’m doing in expressing love to my family. I’ve been so busy! I’ve been so task oriented. I’ve been so focused on myself. When the girls were little, I loved writing little notes to them, leaving chocolates on their pillows, and designing special mystery outings. They were my little treasures. […]
3 Bible Verses to Shape the Day
I love Psalm 82—86. This morning, I note Psalm 82:3-4 Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked. As I look out upon the day, I think of who among us lives weak and fatherless, […]
Choosing Community
It’s so easy to stay isolated in winter. You want to stay in slippers and cozy clothes, sip tea, and watch movies. You’re fine just sitting here with your cats, your simmering winter soups, and your little family who enjoy their solitary pursuits of homework, knitting, drawing, and puzzles. So lovely, but so incomplete. I […]
Perfectionism Can Kill Creativity
I’m getting bogged down in revising sentences to make them perfect. The work feels weighty and stifling. I remember my advisor’s best advice for how to finish a dissertation or book. She said, “It doesn’t have to be your best work. It won’t be.” The statement freed me to create and write with abandon. The […]
Something Sweet for a Support Group
At the end of my Weight Watchers meeting, our leader had a person in the back remove her sticky name tag and roll it into a ball. Then, she was told to pass the ball to the person beside her and have that person add her name tag to the sticky ball. One by one, […]
Spirit-Led Walking
I leave for my hour long walk. It takes me that long to feel settled inside and to let all my thoughts roam as they wish. Usually, about 20 minutes in, I’m breathing in the fresh air, thinking clearly, and so glad for my heart that’s pumping blood and warming me against this cold air. […]
“Go Where Your Best Prayers Take You”–Frederick Buechner
I’m mulling over Buchner’s strange little quote: “Go where your best prayers take you.” I’m walking in the unusually warm and dark morning air, and I’m wondering what my “best prayers” are. What are my best prayers? What could possibly constitute the best prayer for our lives? All day, I’ve been thinking. And then this: Galatians 2:20: […]