jesus
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Beginning to Pray (again)
I’ve come to a place in daily prayer where I feel like I’m only just getting started. In a way, this isn’t a surprising feeling. As we go deeper and deeper into a practice (into any kind of practice), we… Continue reading
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Our attachment to love
For the past few weeks, I’ve been reading The Book of Joy, by the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, with a group of parishioners at church. The book is very good, and I definitely recommend it for anyone who… Continue reading
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What do you pass down?
My parish is currently in the process of hiring a new Children’s Education Director. Hiring someone isn’t simply about just finding the right person for the job. It’s also about refining what the job actually entails. In part, this work… Continue reading
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The Family and Passing on Tradition
A group in my parish is currently working and praying through the Community of Hope International program, and this week we looked at family systems. Technically, family systems is a lens by which a person looks at the assumptions, practices,… Continue reading
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The Psalms, anxiety, and spiritual enemies
I’ve never been that good with keeping to Morning Prayer every morning, but I’d like to be. Getting my children ready for school most mornings, however, doesn’t usually lead to a stable schedule of daily prayer. And so, like most… Continue reading
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Giving voice to every creature under heaven
Children live in an enchanted world. I don’t mean this in a sentimental way, though. I don’t mean that children live as if magic were real and that everything shimmers and shines with unicorns and fairies. Children can be realists,… Continue reading
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“Pied Beauty” and the Trinity
Today I’d like to meditate with you all a bit on a poem. It’s called “Pied Beauty” and was written by Gerard Manley Hopkins in 1877. I’ve enjoyed this poem for a while, and I’m always eager to share it… Continue reading
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Creating a literary journal
I’m going to use this week’s post to advertise a project I’ve been working on. Part of me wants to apologize, but I think this project is really cool and I really want to share it with as many people… Continue reading
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How do you write your sermons?
Every now and again, someone asks me about my process for writing sermons. This question usually gets me pretty excited. I studied the creative process in graduate school and seminary, I like thinking about the theology of creativity, and like most… Continue reading
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Writing fiction with the Holy Spirit
This afternoon I came home to find something very exciting waiting for me at my front door: a print copy of my second fiction book. The book is still in draft form and needs a heavy edit, and so I… Continue reading
Incense and Crayons 