When Trying Harder Fails Lessons from the Bowling Green I was off to a great start. It was a hot summer afternoon on the bowling green, and I was playing pennant bowls, feeling quietly confident. My first few ends had gone well—I was reading the green accurately,...
Pleasant Memories of Food Poisoning It started innocently enough—a meal shared in good company: Tandoori chicken, naan, and some spicy, side dishes. A few hours later, I found myself locked in an epic battle with my own digestive system, doing anything but...
Talking About My Death A Conversation That Matters. This past week, something unexpected happened. My eldest son called me, which isn’t out of the ordinary, but the direction our conversation took was. After chatting about his plans to visit, he surprised me by...
Managing Jesus? A strange and humbling role reversal happens as we grow older. Somewhere along the way, our children start to become ‘our’ caregivers. They give us advice on how to eat better, remind us to take our medications, and worry about whether we’re getting...
Throughout my life, I’ve known a number of people who have struggled with bipolar disorder or psychotic mental illness — a colleague, an employee, friends, even a son-in-law. These have not been people on the fringes of life. They were — and are — intelligent,...
Embracing Freedom: Overcoming Fear in a World of Uncertainty Sometimes we feel the urge to get away from everything for a while. We just want to clear out and be alone; yet while this urge is strong in us, being near other people can make us feel safe, in case...
The Reading Epidemic: A Cautionary Tale for Our Times “I fear for the future.” writes Brother Cornelius of Mainz in the year 1471. “In the market square, I saw a cooper’s apprentice reading the Psalms—not in Latin, but in German! He claims it speaks to his heart....
One of my jobs on a Sunday, after I get back from church, is to get the fires going. Firepits are a feature of our cellar door and over winter they are a vital accompaniment to conversation, music and a glass of wine or beer. Standing around a fire, watching the...
In the bustling narratives of the Gospels, particularly the Gospel of Mark, we encounter a Jesus who is always on the move, always in a hurry. The term “immediately” or “straight away” appears with striking frequency in Mark’s account,...
In the gentle stillness of dawn, as the first light casts a soft glow over the bare canes of the vineyard, a profound sense of peace prevails. The rows of grapevines, many already pruned back to just a few buds, remind me of the resilience needed to thrive and bear...
