When my wife and I saw "Just Mercy", a movie based on the true story of Bryan Stevenson fighting for people unjustly convicted or sentenced, my eyes teared and heart ached the entire movie. We have this "interesting" human tendency where instead of doing the hard work to face and heal an issue head-on, we put … Continue reading Just Mercy: Healing Ourselves and Our Country
Cheers! Even though it's been nearly seven years and I'm incredibly happily remarried, I still sometimes feel DEEPLY hurt by and confused why my second wife left me. By the conventional wisdom that good deeds are rewarded and bad punished, we'd have stayed together. What's more, it's the same story if one went by my … Continue reading Faith, Hope, and Love for NO Reason
Cheers! Why has Mary, Jesus' mom, fascinated so many people for so long? Why do some of our notions about her border on mythological and magical? Similarly, when it comes to Mary Magdalene, why do Dan Brown (and others) speculate she was married to Jesus? There's something about "Mary", and it seems to me they provide … Continue reading The Gospel of Mary
Cheers to you! For years, I would NEVER go out in public unless I was showered and put together. I bought into the story that beauty is 100% appearance based. Yet, practicing yoga (especially hot yoga), while more thoroughly absorbing the teachings of Christ, is helping me realize ALL bodies are beautiful because each of us … Continue reading Your Body is a Beautiful Place Where Heaven Meets Earth
Cheers to you! Worn out from working 12 days in a row, feeling the weight of all the things to do and the financial stress of the holidays, and momentarily stuck in "I'm an army of one and have to do ALL the things" thinking, I had a bit of a meltdown the other night. … Continue reading Kindness is Happiness
Cheers to you! I struggle with making time to pause, rest, and slow down. Can you relate? Aside from the volume of things that have to be done and what I “think” I have to do, there's SO many people, places, and experiences I want to enjoy. It's super easy for the suitcase of Lisa … Continue reading Minimalism, the Power of the Pause, and Wholehearted Living
"The rain told me a secret this morning," "It wants to let you in on it too," she shared. So, outside I sat, quieted, receptive, and slowed, Listening to the murmurs of small splashes. As I settled, the waterfall of noise resolved, Into sounds of singular gifts of nourishment landing. A soft tune in … Continue reading The Rain’s Secret (A Poem)
Cheers Beloved! I wonder if the terrible twos are because that's when kids start thinking and acting in terms of "my" and "mine"? What's more, I'd ask if as a society we live stuck in our terrible twos? Seriously! The more I think and speak in terms of "my"/"mine", the smaller, more selfish, anxious, angry, … Continue reading Enlightenment is the Journey from My & Mine to Our & Ours
In telling my story lately, my eyes have been opened to two key words in my life: Lack and Enough. While insecurities bias me toward a space of lack, wherein I find my worth in the number of students in my classes, the amount of "likes" on social media, the volume of tasks I get … Continue reading Letting the Spirit of “How May I Be of Service” Guide Us
Cheers Beloved! My first memories are from Germany. My dad was in the Army, so I lived in Western Germany twice before I turned 12. Growing up in a foreign land, living under the threat of nuclear war, having to stay inside because of Chernobyl, watching soldiers with assault rifles protect my elementary school because of … Continue reading Everyone Belongs, There’s More Than Enough
