When I got married, my parents walked me up the aisle to the song Sunrise, Sunset from the movie Fiddler On The Roof. We selected the song as a way to honor my family’s heritage. Since I’ve become a parent, I have not been able to listen to that song without becoming a weeping mess. Remembering my own parents is a part of it, but the bigger part of it is the way the lyrics capture the stunning speed with... Read more

Last weekend, my dear friend Meg and I facilitated a directed silent retreat. One of the passages of Scripture on which we focused was possibly the most familiar of them all – Psalm 23. Familiarity does not equal true understanding. I am convinced you could spend a lifetime meditating on a few familiar Bible passages and have barely scratched the surface of what is there. These are eternal, transforming, living words, given us by the Living Word. I was sitting... Read more

So I finally broke down and bought a Kindle. I’d been resisting the purchase because I love the idea of a physical book, and because a lot of my reading comes in the from of free books I read in order to review. With some upcoming travel on the horizon, I realized that one little device would be a lot nicer to carry than 35 pounds of reading material. More than one person told me that I could get all... Read more

Author Margaret Feinberg has been blogging during this season of Lent about what she’s given up during the 40-day observance. No, not chocolate or facebook. She’s given up prayer.  Her provocatively-titled vow is really more about getting out of the habit of talking at God than it is abandoning communication (and communion!) with him.  It triggered a memory of one of my own journeys – yes, the plural is meant to be there – through prayerlessness. Mine had to do... Read more

I had one of those slap-upside-the-head Bible reading moments a couple of days ago. The ones where you’re reading words out of habit, and suddenly, blam-o! The Hound of Heaven ambushes you, and with no warning, you’re having a holy “have a good look in the mirror at high noon” moment. I was reading Romans 16, which is mostly a list of personal greetings from Paul and team to the Church in Rome. There are some instructions and a beautiful... Read more

A few posts ago, I reviewed a book about Communion. I just received another volume on the topic that I’ll be reviewing for Englewood Review of Books. And in the midst of it all, I wrote a short devotional about the Lord’s Supper for the next Caspari Center newsletter. I’m reposting it here with a prayer that it will give you a fresh understanding of the Communion word “Remember”, Remember… There were about 25 teenagers chattering with one another in... Read more

Though Lent is a somber forty-day period of the Christian year given to fasting, reflection and acts of charity, here’s a story that will probably give you a smile – and serve as a reminder that those observing Lent need to interpret the practice to a watching, wondering world: I was immersed into Gentile culture for the first time in eighth grade after growing up prior to that in a predominately Jewish neighborhood. In the hallway at school on Ash... Read more

A few weeks ago, I reviewed a book about spiritual pilgrimage from Thomas Nelson’s Ancient Practices series. Thanks to Nelson’s blogger review program (which they’ve dubbed “Booksneeze”, a cringe-worthy name if ever there was one), I had the opportunity to read another title in the series. This time, it was Nora Gallagher’s The Sacred Meal, focusing on the sacrament of the Lord’s supper. Gallagher, a lay minister in the Episcopal church as well as a noted author, brings her powers... Read more

A devotional, an invitation, a contest and an update – here are highlights of my recent newsletter: Home again?         If you’ve ever returned to your home town after a being away for a few years, you’ll discover that there’s truth in the old adage “You can’t go home again”. It’s not just that someone built a Walgreens where your favorite old health-code violating dive of a burger joint once stood. Your life experiences while away from home have... Read more

A fun but surreal moment: I took my seven-year old grandson to Mickey D’s yesterday. It’s kind of a tradition for us. Cold, damp late February days mean that the indoor playground is the hottest ticket in town. There wasn’t an empty table in the joint. Gabriel and I stood in the center of the room for a moment, he chomping at the bit to hit the slide, me hoping that someone was about to vacate a seat. “Hey, you... Read more