In Essentials Unity, In Non-Essentials Liberty, In All Things Charity. Rupertus Meldenius Over the last 40 years I have often heard this quote. There is some confusion who actually penned this quote. I believe I found an answer in the article In Essentials Unity, In Non-Essentials Liberty, In All Things Charity. According to the…
Today I listened to a wonderful podcast with Sarah Clarkson about the importance of beauty. A quote that will stick with me: beauty is a tangible encounter with God’s goodness She is very interested in our embodied lives, something that I am coming to see is very important. There was a lot of other good content, including her…
Unconditional love is the most powerful and important force in our world. Love is the heart of our connections and communities, possessing the remarkable power to mend fractured relationships and bridge gaps between people. Love not only opens our hearts to others but also serves as a potent catalyst for learning and personal growth. Love…
I have been spending a bit of time thinking about what’s important to me, what’s shaped my life. I noticed that there seem to be themes which thread the books I love, the stories I tell, and the way I try to live. Today I was looking at the books that have most influenced me,…
I attended a group prayer / worship meeting held in Bridgetown Church’s Prayer: Room. As I entered I felt overwhelmed, moved to tears. The space felt holy. Part of it was the candles and soft lighting. Near the top of the four walls was the Lord’s prayer written out. Below each passage of the prayer…
When I first hear the Japanese term shinrin-yoku, which is forest bathing in English, I pictured a outdoor onsen that was in the middle of a forest, or maybe a deep soaking tub which was part of an outdoor bathroom attached to a hide-away cabin in the woods. I was wrong. I failed to read…
In gratitude for changes I tried to capture what I was feeling. I wondered how chat-gpt would improve what I wrote so I fed it my paragraph with a number of different instructions. The original paragraph was: I had planned on going for a hike today, but I missed the group. Instead, I find myself…
This morning I have been reflecting on, and being grateful for books, people, and events that has shaped my life. This has been brought about because I am catching up with some old friends, including one that I haven’t seen in 40 years. I am in Portland for most of October. It turns out I…
The recent wave of layoffs within prosperous tech companies has been a wake-up call, especially for younger professionals who have not experienced previous economic downturns. However, those familiar with cyclical business trends or the relentless pursuit of “shareholder value” are neither shocked nor surprised. Why Layoffs Happen Layoffs often signal that a company’s executives believe…
I am forever thankful to my friend Craig and an unnamed housemate who helped me to understand that I had to choose whether I loved people or things more. I purchased my first car on a Thursday afternoon and proceeded to drive it to where my house church was meeting. Right after the meeting ended…