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Prior to the benediction at last Sunday’s service, I suggested those present likely shared the same state of bewilderment given the events of the last several weeks. I had in mind devastating hurricanes and earthquake, as well as human fashioned debacles like Charlottesville, dysfunctional government, nuclear confrontation, and a highly polarized political and cultural environment.⦠Read More
In a NY Times op-ed this morning, David Brooks takes a plunge into pop and rap by comparing two new songs by Chance the Rapper and Taylor Swift. He briefly dissects what they suggest about the difference between sincerity and authenticity, as well as our cultural regard for “branding.” “The first thing you notice in⦠Read More
Shortly after Equifax announced the catastrophic security breach, I tried to be in touch to determine my exposure risk. The website didn’t allow me to enter for some reason, so I called the suggested phone number. First attempt I was told to call back later. Second I was on hold for 20 minutes before getting⦠Read More
Prayer seems the natural and appropriate place to take our concern, anxiety, worry, hope, and love. Here’s one to try on. As you say it, imagine your voice as one that’s been joined within the chorus of a great congregation… Loving and gracious God: nature and all that you have created are truly awesome. Often,⦠Read More
“Life is difficult.” So began one of the most read self-help books of all time, The Road Less Traveled. From this three-sentence launching pad author M. Scott Peck explored how human flourishing was fashioned from a dynamic and sometimes searing balance of personal discipline, love, and spiritual growth. It remained on the NY Times best-seller list⦠Read More
As a component of your summertime respite, I invite you to try a small discipline each day for the next week. (I strongly recommend doing this seven days in a row.) It will require 10 minutes of quiet time (or more, if you’re able, but no less) – that’s the hard part. Well, that, and⦠Read More
Turning 65 this month, I’ve been checking actuarial tables. My 95-year-old father told me at his recent birthday celebration that when he retired at 62, his retirement advisors were working with something close to an endgame around 82 or so and planned accordingly. Well, he blew past that marker with aplomb, but it underscores my⦠Read More
I promise I won’t indulge in this too often, but I feel the need to comment on the state of the national political scene, and in particular, the astonishing conduct of our president. Oddly, you might think, it was Mr. Trump’s performance at the national Boy Scout Jamboree that proved the proverbial straw that broke⦠Read More
I happen to be attending a seaside family reunion celebrating my father’s 95th birthday. Though not an especially large family (e.g. my 2 brothers and I only have one cousin) every member and significant other has managed to make it here with kids, grandkids, or as this occasion emphasizes, great-grandkids (7 of those, btw)—several of⦠Read More
Do you believe you have an unalienable right to happiness? – A question that comes to mind for the 4th of July given the famous phrase from our Declaration of Independence. You remember: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain⦠Read More