by David Anderson
teaches us how to access and trust the God within. Jesus tells a parable about a vulnerable widow who goes before a jerk of a judge who “neither feared God nor cared what people thought ” (Luke 18:1-8). He brushes her off, again and again. But she keeps after him, until finally he relents and […]
by David Anderson 6 Comments Filed Under: Adult Spirituality, authority, Awareness, Faith in Action, Grace, Lent, Now/ the Present, Patience, Surrender, Transformation
in a parable of Jesus became my brother and me. There once was a father, Jesus said, with two sons. He says to the first, “Go and work in the vineyard today.” The first boy says, “I will not.” But later, he changes his mind. He grabs his pruning hook. To the same question, the […]
by David Anderson 6 Comments Filed Under: Adult Spirituality, authority, Freedom, Lent
In the opening days of the New Year people often ask, “How was your Christmas?” The answer, of course, is supposed to touch on family who came—or whom you visited—people who got sick, flights that got delayed or canceled, dinners or parties or events, and so forth. If the question comes from a close friend, […]
by David Anderson 10 Comments Filed Under: Adult Spirituality, Awareness, Christmas, Incarnation, Now/ the Present
Luke 2:15-20 “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened,which the Lord has made known to us.” I have a friend, now gone, who used to send a Christmas card every year that ended with, “I hope you make it to Bethlehem this year.” I always heard in those words […]
by David Anderson 11 Comments Filed Under: Adult Spirituality, Advent, Awareness, Patience, Reality--trusting it, Salvation, Surrender, Transformation
“How happy are you?” Happiness studies are all the rage these days, and happiness books abound. The most popular courses at Ivy league colleges are devoted to happiness and what it takes to get it. The tricky thing is, happiness surveys are self-reporting. People respond to questions like: I am pleased with the way I […]
by David Anderson 13 Comments Filed Under: Adult Spirituality, authority, Awareness, Blessing, Change, Daily Practice, Happiness, Letting Go
I remember the day Pam got off the train, from her increasingly miserable daily commute into New York City, and said, “I am done with this.” We had two little girls and I wasn’t earning much in my first job out of seminary. She made more than I did. How were we going to survive? […]
by David Anderson 15 Comments Filed Under: Adult Spirituality, Awareness, Change, Choice, Discernment, Grace, Happiness, Letting Go, Reality--trusting it, Surrender
Our grandchildren, ages eight and four, are with us for a week. All day every day. By about day four an adult reaches a saturation point and becomes, in some sense, a child too. After days and nights participating in play, story, physical and imaginative games, make-believe, general silliness, and the deep need for security […]
by David Anderson 4 Comments Filed Under: Adult Spirituality, Awareness, Awe, Change, Faith/Trust, Family, Grace, Happiness, Healing, Love, Now/ the Present, Reality--trusting it, Surrender, Transformation
I think of South Dakota, the place I left on my way to college, as Garrison Keillor’s Lake Woebegone: “The little town that time forgot and the decades cannot improve.” But, as I found on my visit last week, time has not unremembered my old home. It’s both the same as ever, and yet dramatically […]
by David Anderson 9 Comments Filed Under: Adult Spirituality, Change, Faith/Trust, Faithfulness, Family, Fear, Letting Go, Reality--trusting it, Surrender