It’s not fun. It’s not comfortable. But these are the times that change us. ~Jewel How are you going to emerge from this pandemic and extended period of social unrest? As the same person who went in? A little more bitter or jaded? Or as a woman or man with a renewed sense of purpose and vigor, a person determined to lead a more giving and rewarding life? Now is the time to start planning, to develop a life plan... Read more
What if you were not really in charge of your life? What if there was a pre-determined path for you and only you, one that was designed with your best interests at heart? What if the key to a fulfilling and contented life was simply to find this path and follow it? These were questions I was pondering as I read Finding Grace, Daily Comfort for Uncertain Times, by Eiman Al Zaabi. It’s a thin book, containing a saying or... Read more
You wait a lifetime to meet someone who understands you, accepts you as you are. At the end, you find that Someone, all along, has been you. What makes a great quote? It stops you in your tracks and causes you to wonder if it doesn’t relate to your own life. It can make you question your past actions—or change the way you view what you’re doing in the present and what you might do differently in future. Donald Shimoda... Read more
You’re at home now. You’ve probably been at home for several weeks, save for the occasional walk around the block or trip to the local supermarket. And while you might have thought all this down time would be akin to floating on a tranquil sea, it has left you feeling a little unsettled. Maybe it’s the way the work day bleeds into the night or your kids are acting up for the 20th time today or maybe the nonstop drumbeat... Read more
Will my family be alright? Will I be all right? When will this end? Will it end? And if it does, will life ever be as it was? This staccato burst of angst, written by Dan Barry in The New York Times, captures how many of us are feeling these days. We want to be optimistic that life will soon return to a state resembling normal, only to realize that (in the US) there are still 2,000 people dying of... Read more
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. ~The Serenity Prayer During our shared pandemic quarantine, there are a lot of things we cannot change. For instance, we cannot change the path of this virus or when it will go away or the safety precautions we need to take. Yet if we dig a little deeper, we can see that there are things that... Read more
Chances are that you’ve been sitting at home for 4 or 5 weeks now. I know that this is driving some people nuts, they’re going stir crazy and I get it. But if you’re like me, you’re enjoying this enforced down time as it has given you time to explore new books, new podcasts, new ways of thinking. I recently came across a 5-minute audio clip that forced me to look at life from a fresh perspective. It can be... Read more
Is it 5:00 yet? These are words you’ll hear almost daily in our house as we enter the fourth week of our Covid-19 related quarantine. And it’s not because 5:00 is quitting time from work—it marks the hour when my wife and I uncork a bottle of wine or uncap a couple of bottles of beers. During pre-Coronavirus times, we limited our drinking to weekends. Admittedly, with the occasional glass of wine on weekdays. But if you’re like me, and... Read more
How are you dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic? Has your extended time at home, away from the pressures of the outside world, allowed you to find a sense of centeredness and calm? Or has the nonstop drumbeat of negative news left you feeling anxious, maybe even angry, about your predicament and the plight of the world? I’ve written before about dealing with anger. I’ve also written extensively about prayer. But I was surprised to recently discover that there’s a place where... Read more
Where is God in all this? Why is God allowing COVID-19 to happen? I’ve written about God’s role after other deeply unsettling events like 9/11, the Newtown shootings, the Boston Marathon bombing and the Las Vegas massacre. I’m now pondering my words again, trying to make sense of what has become an ever-expanding tragedy, one that will take more lives than all the previously mentioned events combined. Let’s start by looking at God and the Christian belief, via St. Augustine,... Read more
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In