Category: Spiritual Formation

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Like the Bumper Sticker Says: Change Happens!

Whether we like it or not, change happens! I think change needs to be added to the list of those things we can count on to be true:  taxes, death, change. I tend to be one who hates rearranging the furniture.  Once in place I like to keep it that way; that way I can […]

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When the Alleluias Run Dry

He shared his story:  “I was sitting in church and looked around at all of the banners that said alleluia.  The songs of the liturgy all had alleluia.  I heard the familiar, ‘Christ is Risen, Alleluia’ and heard the response, ‘Christ is risen, indeed.  Alleluia!’”.  But it was all dry and empty for me.  Every […]

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Transitions are sure interesting……

Right now I am in the process of retiring from something that I have done for 24 years and, in addition, preparing to move into something totally new.  Ambiguity is the name of the game as things wind down in some parts of life before the new parts are ready to take wing.  It is […]

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A Struggle With Hospitality

To welcome the stranger and to offer hospitality in the name of Christ is something that is very important to me.  I am discovering though that I am finding that I struggle with this concept.  If I truly believe in welcoming all as Christ, then that should mean all, regardless of what they say or […]

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A Daily Question…

Right now I spend half of my work life with young adults and half of my work life with senior adults.  Serving as chaplain in both settings I am finding that both groups have a great deal in common and my response in each setting is to listen and to be present.  I love both […]

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Recent Items

  • The Loneliness Factor

    I was at a luncheon that was serving as a listening post for seniors to describe their sense of loneliness and isolation. I knew that the population invited to this luncheon was one that would probably have a higher sense of isolation, but, what I heard was much more intense than I expected. A man […]

  • Social Networks and Aging

    It is interesting that research is showing two demographics experiencing social isolation in such as way as to impact health: Young Adults (18-22) and Senior Adults (65+). I have worked with both populations over the past 50 years and I continue to be amazed at the similarity of the questions raised by both groups and […]

  • An Eye-Opening Awareness: One More Transition for this Guy

    I sat at a luncheon two weeks ago that opened my eyes to a reality that I knew was there, but as the discussion unfolded I began to realize how the discussion, about to take place, was going to expand my thinking. As I listened to the needs of the people with whom I shared […]

  • TRANSFORMATIVE CHANGE: LETTING GOD SET THE AGENDA

    When it comes to the human condition and a desire to change, we can become easily frustrated: we think that we want to change … but we really don’t. Paul expresses this contradiction well in Romans 7:15-24: “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do […]

  • The Crisis of Loneliness

    THE NATIONAL CRISIS CALLED LONELINESS From “LINKED IN” “America is becoming Isolation Nation. Nearly half of respondents to a nationwide survey by health insurer Cigna say they always or sometimes feel alone, and 54% say they feel no one knows them well. Such loneliness is connected to increased risk of heart disease, stroke and premature death. The […]