acceptance
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What Did Jesus Do?
oh, a womana woman is a personI'll talk to hereven though I'm not supposed to oh, a lepera leper is a personI'll touch himeven though I'm not supposed to oh, a childa child is a personI'll hold hereven though I'm… Continue reading
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Jingle Bells
I have this memory of a church Christmas party when I was a child. The kids were invited to call out carols they wanted to sing. One boy shouted, "Jingle Bells." There was this moment of awkward silence, after which… Continue reading
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Core Word #7: Awareness
Anthony de Mello wrote a potent little book titled Awareness. Do not read this book. If you read this book, you will be picked up, shaken out, and dropped several feet from where you started. You will most certainly be… Continue reading
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Not One, But Not Two
My friend Jim recently commented on a post of mine, decrying the use of labels. I think his response was justified. Labeling sustains separations that ultimately are illusory. In God, we become one. (Jim will occasionally refer to God as… Continue reading
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WWWJE (With Whom Would Jesus Eat?)
Jesus practiced an open-table fellowship that scandalized and outraged those who believed they spoke for God. He was surprisingly indiscriminate, rubbing elbows with "tax collectors and sinners" (coded lanugage for all those on the outside, the disdained, the feared, the… Continue reading
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Am I Worthy?
"Am I worthy?" The question is irrelevant! Boring! No one cares (least of all God). It's not about judgement, it's about transformation. There is no jury;There is no judge.Open and waitingAre the steady arms of love. (from "Out in the Open"… Continue reading
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Halloween: Mystery
Halloween offers appreciation for the mysterious, that which lies outside of logic and reason. This is, in fact, an important and necessary function of religion; embracing mystery and the inexplicable reflects healthy spirituality. Not everything can be–nor needs to be–sorted out, rationalized, categorized… Continue reading
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Halloween: Hospitality
"Trick of treat!" I remember cold Halloween nights when my siblings and I trick-or-treated back in my hometown in Michigan. With either my mother or my aunt following behind, we'd run door to door through our neighborhood and those beyond,… Continue reading
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Don’t Believe Everything You Think
That sounds simple and obvious, but it can be life-changing if you embrace it. Don't believe everything you think. Your thoughts are just that–your thoughts. They're not particularly connected with reality. You can acknowledge the thoughts, let them pass and… Continue reading
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The Great Encounter
What do we seek in silence and solitude? First, we seek self-knowledge and self-acceptance, to know and nurture ourselves, for "only in still water do we see our reflection." Henri Nouwen writes: "The greatest gift of solitude…is the gift of… Continue reading