My daughter Sharon, who’s studying for the ministry at Yale Divinity School (one proud father I am!), told me this week about a great sermon she’d heard by an old Baptist preacher. “He spoke about the quiet people,” Sharon wrote. “The folks who sit at church and don’t make a big fuss over themselves, the […]
Faithfulness
Every Parent Should be a Conservative and a Liberal
My father calls himself a conservative. In 1964 he voted for Barry Goldwater, and these days his car sports a big blue bumper sticker: CAIN. He is a born-again Christian who believes in the Bible and doesn’t believe in evolution. He’s a teetotaler. But I have to say, at nearly 93 my father is also […]
The Queen’s Purse
Why does the Queen always carry that purse? A friend was telling me at brunch on Sunday that he and his wife had been honored, on a recent trip to London, to be welcomed to Buckingham Palace. They were part of a larger church group. Ken said the Queen came in and worked the […]
Embers You Need
Starting a fire in a cold grate is tough. It’s been raining here and even the wood in the shed is wet from sheets of water blowing sideways. My kindling is a little damp. It smokes when I lay it on the pile of flaming newspaper and cardboard. I get close and blow like bellows. […]
Leaving a Bad Relationship
Dear Janet, Good to get your email, though of course I’m sorry that this is a rough time for you. Having to cut off a relationship that held such promise but that ended up being destructive—that’s hard to do. People like Craig are hard to cut off, right? They’re so charming. They promise so much, […]
Do One Small Thing
Statistics can paralyze. Of the world’s 6.8 billion people, 925 million don’t have enough to eat. That’s more than the population of the U.S., Canada and the European Union all put together. Global food prices are rising sharply—because of population increase, rising oil prices and climate change. The world’s poorest spend 80% of their income […]
The Squirrels of 9/12
On my early morning run today there were squirrels everywhere, racing around with walnuts clutched in their mouths. Fall is coming and they know it. It’s time to put away food for a winter’s day. There is work to do. After weeks of drum beat and ballyhoo, 9/11 came and went. Now it is 9/12. […]