I’m slowly rereading Thomas a Kempis’ classic, The Imitation of Christ. It’s impossible to read this quickly; the depth of wisdom and insight on each page is phenomenal. I’m already overwhelmed and I’m only a few chapters in. Here are a few gems so far…the opening paragraph begins, “He that

…is love! On this Valentine’s Day, when greeting cards, roses, chocolates and diamonds are being bought up everywhere, it’s important to realize afresh that the focus of today is not to be on cupids and gifts, but on the joyful privilege of sharing love with one another. It’s been that

How ironic that today I’m facilitating a leadership development session with a church leadership team on the subject of Conflict Resolution…and the psalm of the week in our prayer guide is Psalm 51: “Have mercy on me…blot out my transgression…wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin…against

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay

Today we pause and commemorate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. For those of us who grew up when Dr. King was alive, we remember well his non-violent stance toward injustice. He heard a clarion call inviting him to fulfill a compelling mission. Today the world is a

January 1, 2011 was an unusually mild day in New England. At midday, several of our extended family members went for a leisurely walk in my favorite wildlife refuge near our home. It was a spectacular site, filled with incredible beauty despite the overcast mid-winter sky and the barrenness of

“Action without reflection is meaningless action.” I wish I knew the source of this quote, shared with me years ago as “from the mystics of old” – because the truths encapsulated within these profound words are worth both our pondering and our application. Flip this statement upside down and the

When is it the season to receive? Correct answer: Advent, Christmas – and every other day of the year! In the gospel of John, the mystery of the incarnation is spelled out with clarity. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was

By the time we sing Silent Night via candlelight on Christmas Eve, chances are we’ll be doing so after having run as fast as we can to get there! If your life is anything like ours, the list of things yet to do before Christmas (on top of an already

What information will you keep out of the annual family Christmas letter? As I was working over the weekend on writing this year’s family Christmas letter I had a silly thought… What if this year’s letter were more about the disappointments of the past year rather than the highlights? I