By Atena Danner“Rest is reparations.” —Tricia Hersey, Nap Bishop of the Nap MinistryI recently bridged some holidays with time off to create a two-week vacation, declaring it Hibernation Season. I vowed to slow down, enjoy myself, resist unnecessary urgency, and let my mind and body renew. Intentio
By Andrew Tripp“When people look at my body and be like, 'Oh my God, she's so brave,' it's like, 'No, I'm not.' I’m just fine. I’m just me. If you saw Anne Hathaway in a bikini on a billboard, you wouldn't call her brave." —LizzoJanuary is a triggering month. Resolutions abound to lose weight, to d
By Melissa Jeter“...When the shepherds are back with their flocks, the work of Christmas begins: to find the lost, to heal the broken, to feed the hungry….” —Rev. Howard ThurmanYou are not alone. I read these words in an article about grieving the death of estranged parents. While there are many pe
By Tim Atkins “Make New Year's goals. Dig within, and discover what you would like to have happen in your life this year. This helps you do your part. It is an affirmation that you're interested in fully living life in the year to come.” —Melody Beattie, The Language of Letting Go: Daily Meditation
By Laura Shay“At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.” —Albert SchweitzerI’m fortunate to work in an inpatient hospice that permits family to be at the bedside d
By Jake Morrill“My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following Your will does not mean that I am actually doing so….” —Thomas Merton, “A Prayer of Unk
By Taryn Strauss“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.” —Luke 1:42, 45 (NRSV)What if the angel comes to you and tells you not to have the baby? The message is inst
By Leslie Gatto"A sunset is nothing more and nothing less than the backside of a sunrise." —Craig D. LounsbroughOn a leisurely country drive, my husband and I came to a small chapel near a Franciscan monastery. Curious, we stepped inside the tiny room. A cross adorned the far wall and windows on ea
By Sally Fritsche“Is not prayer a study of truth? A venture of the soul into the unfound infinite? No one ever prayed heartily without learning something.” —Ralph Waldo EmersonPrayer isn't for atheists like me—at least, that’s what I used to think. Until I prayed for Ernesto.During one of my very f
By David Glasgow"’Cause what if everyone saw? What if everyone knew? Would they like what they saw? Or would they hate it too?" —Evan in "Words Fail (YouTube)" from Dear Evan Hansen, by Benj Pasek & Justin Paul“Words Fail,” he says, with a wry smile that’s trying hard to be teenagery and ironic. “I
