Beyond Just Mom

What if we all lived this way?
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.  –Christianity (as drawn from the Hebrew scriptures)
What is hateful to you do not do to your neighbor. That is the entire Torah. The rest is commentary. Go and learn.–Judaism
No one is a believer until you desire for another that [...]

The little wooden house sits on our kitchen table, typically unnoticed.  My son brought it home from Sunday’s Cool a few weeks ago (yes, that’s what we call it.  Totally different from that old stodgy Sunday school, you know).  It has little disks with velcro on the back, so the peacemaker of the moment can [...]

I’m stunned by the sea of devastation.  My heart aches for the people of Haiti who have been through so much and now have to endure so much more.  It is unbearably tragic. 
But why am I not more upset?   How can I listen and watch those pictures from my cozy home and keep on going [...]

The Berlin Wall was knocked down, chunk by chunk, twenty years ago today.  The event still blows me away. 
I lived in West Berlin in the spring of 1989, just months before the wall tumbled down.  As a college student, I relished the wild spirit of freedom within that weird western island in the middle of communist [...]

On Sunday mornings I awake to the melodic, crystal clear voice of Krista Tippett from Speaking of Faith.  I’m a huge fan of Krista Tippett.  Not only do I enjoy how just saying her name tickles the tongue, but I love the diverse characters she brings on her show to discuss complex faith issues in our day-to-day world.   Krista [...]

Our church is launching a simple theme this fall: 
 
These words from a recent message keep echoing through my mind:

The past is not ours to change. 
The future is not ours to see.
There is only one call that God extends.
It is here.
And it is now.
–Rev. J. Douglas Paterson

Makes me wonder, regardless of our faith tradition:
Are we [...]

I received this email announcement yesterday: 
BECAUSE OF GROWING THREAT OF THE H1N1 VIRUS IN OUR COMMUNITY
WE WILL BE CANCELING THE POTLUCK PORTION OF THE MEETING. 
Color me confused.  The potluck itself is no big deal to me –I’m happy to skip preparing a dish– but I cannot find any logical explanation besides irrational fear.  There is [...]

Just sharing some quick food for thought after a lovely respite in northern Wisconsin, enjoying this peaceful view: 
I’ve been thinking about a prayer in today’s church bulletin all afternoon.  I thought you might find it interesting too:
Gracious and Loving God,
Your Son calls us friends and commands us to love one another.  So often [...]

A favorite line from a lovely book I just read:   

      
When someone asks us where we want to be in our lives,
the last thing that occurs to us is to look down at our feet and say,
“Here, I guess, since this is where I am.”
 
–from An Altar in the World:  A Geography of [...]

Links that moved me on a Sunday afternoon:
—1—
Billy Coffey from What I Learned Today  shares a story of simple words, different interpretations:  Please Take One
—2—
A movement to create peace through music:  Playing for Change

 —3—
The United Methodist Church considers church as a verb: 

What do you think?  Do they move you too?