I put out the 1,000 things dare last week! How did you do? How far did you get alone, or with others, in naming 1,000 things for which you are grateful?   What I’ve learned is that naming that for which I’m thankful takes time. The second thing I learned is that it is easy to start dismissing things – the eraser on my pencil, is that worth being thankful for? Well of course it is. Imagine life without an eraser.   It took me about half an hour to put down the first 50 things on paper (though some people...

I dare you! I dare you to name 1,000 things you are thankful for this weekend. Make it a family and/or friends activity. Go for it. Often we say, “Oh, I have so much to be thankful for.” And we might name 2 or 5 or 10 things. But really we do have SO MUCH to be thankful for.   Gratitude is a counter-cultural practice in our society. I am so tired of hearing hate-filled messages directed at politicians and leaders of all sorts. I am so tired of hearing criticism of almost everything in our society. And, sadly, I find myself...

Self-care sounds good, but it doesn’t really give us the rest we need. After a long day of caring for others, the last thing I can do at home is take care of myself. Usually it ends up me sitting on the couch in the evening, feet up, watching home improvement shows or playing Angry Bird Match on my telephone. I call that crashing, not self-care. If I have a bit more energy left, I manage to spend some time reading, going for a walk, or maybe even doing some sewing, which are a bit better for my body, mind and...

“Live simply so that others may simply live.” ― Mahatma Gandhi   I was in my teens when I first heard that saying. I created a felt banner of it to hang on my bedroom wall as inspiration and wisdom. But I’ve learned through the years that it is not so easy to live. Living simply in a society powered by materialism is a challenge. The messaging and advertisements all say, “Want more; have more!”   I grew up in a family that embraced “re-use and recycle” long before those words became a catch phrase. My mom and dad both grew up...

One of the most essential things that Jesus commands us to do as followers of his Way is to love our enemies. In his time that would have included the Roman soldiers and the tax collectors who gathered the crippling Roman taxes, people who were really making life miserable for Jesus’ followers, friends, and family. Jesus also would have been speaking to bridging the natural human tribalism that draws boundaries between “us and them.”   In our society, a time when tribalism and divisiveness is as rampant as ever, people are too quickly named as enemies because they have different opinions...

I was six years old and it was my first day at school.  The photo captures me standing in front of my playhouse proudly holding my pink lunch-kit with a black poodle on the front.  This was long before backpacks became a standard part of the school outfit.  I’m smiling at the camera.   A precious moment.  And a moment captured on film each first day of school for my sister and I, a moment I repeated with my sons through their twelve years of public school.    These moments we capture in a photo, and other moments which are held...

The first day of school is coming soon.  For some children and parents, it is an exciting time.  For others, the anticipation of the first day creates anxiety and fears.   Even for a child who has been to school before, the first day can create anxiety because they are having to be away from home and all that is familiar again, and because they aren’t quite sure about who their teacher will be and who will be in their class. Being separated from those we love is a huge thing, whether we are 5 years old, 15 years old, or 50...

God is love! God is steadfast love! Mercy, lovingkindness, compassion, grace – these are the core of who God is, as described in scripture.   “God is love!” is the most used phrase about God within the Jewish tradition.  Jesus echoed this description of God, as do our Muslim brothers and sisters.  In Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Hinduism and other world faiths, love is at the core of how one should live.    God’s love is uncontrollable.  By this I mean that I believe that God can be nothing but love.  It is God’s very nature to be love.  It wasn’t a decision...

It’s almost summer time. I remember the fun of anticipating summer as a child. What, of all the possibilities, would I choose to do with my days? I was a farm kid so between laying hens in the barn year-round and roasting/frying hens to be raised, butchered and sold over the summer, and garden & crops to be planted and harvested, we rarely took summer vacations. I remember only one in my whole childhood.   But that was just life on the farm and I knew that there was a great deal of fun to be had right there where I...

Waiting. Watching. Praying.    That is what Holy Week is about.  I just can’t bring myself to do anything that is celebratory or fun on these days, especially on Good Friday.  Even if the sun is shining, Good Friday always seems a sombre day to me.   It may be called “Good” – which is actually derived from “God’s” Friday, in the same way that “God be with you” became “good-bye.”  But though it is called “good,” God’s Friday always feels just like that – a day that I need to give to God, in worship, in prayer, in waiting.   But...