We are never without an opportunity for a new, fresh revelation of those things that we most need to hear. Whether it is revealed in a dream, a sacred text, or a common daily occurrence, it’s important to be able to listen to what is waiting to be revealed.
Here we will explore dreams, sacred texts and reflections on daily life in order to plumb the depths of our own experiences.
Many of my sacred texts are from Christian traditions, but as an interfaith practitioner, I love to encounter and engage with texts from a broad spectrum of belief systems. If you’d like to see a particular text here, be sure to submit one by using the contact form.
Do you dream in vivid color or black and white? Do your dreams speak to you?
What texts are meaningful to you? Do you hold any texts as sacred?
How do you believe that God speaks to you?
Doing it Afraid 4: When the doing hurts
It’s 4:26am in Los Angeles. I’ve been “home” just about nine hours. I can’t sleep, but that’s pretty normal for flying back in this direction. I haven’t posted recently because the last two weeks have been 100% devoted to packing, shipping, and moving our lives back to the United States from Dublin. And those are just the practicalities. The practicalities were difficult enough, but the part that hurt – on a fundamental, deep down level – was the saying ‘see you later!’ No one...
read moreDoing It Afraid 2: This Is Your Life
Welcome to the first day of the rest of your life. Are you ready for it? It is, after all *your* life. But what does that really mean? One day, you will decide to wake up, and take ownership of your life. It will become your own. It won’t belong to anybody else, and no one else will be responsible for it. And this possibility is both liberating and terrifying. Liberating, because the only person who will hold you accountable is yourself. You’ll begin to realize that your life isn’t about what other people want from you. You...
read moreDoing It Afraid 1: The series I was supposed to write…
Over the next month, you’ll see a bit more activity on the site. As I’ve committed to NaNoWriMo and finished my final academic piece, I’m now set to pursue my passion like my derriere is on fire. It’s taken me a while to realize that this is one of the things that I was born to do – because I can’t *not* do it. I love it. I can’t get enough of it. I love the sound of my fingers clacking on the keyboard, the scratch of a pen on paper. It’s all part and parcel. I’ve decided, in full...
read moreThere You Are
Rest is the ultimate humiliation, because in order to rest we must admit we are not necessary, that the world can get along without us, that God’s work does not depend on us. Once we understand how unnecessary we are, only then might we find the right reasons to say yes. Only then might we find the right reasons to decide to be with Jesus instead of working for him. – Mike Yaconelli
read moreTreasures in the Darkness
I’m taking a deep breath today. Inhaling, exhaling. It was Ash Wednesday. I didn’t go anywhere special to have ashes painted on my forehead, though I respect and admire those who do. But I did have a remarkably spiritual morning. It was sweetness and light and mystery and joy. From a place of tenderness I’ve never really known. And it drew me once again into the place of peace. The place of knowing. The place where things are reflecting ever-increasing glory. I read a different translation yesterday of Isaiah 40:3-5. It moved a comma, and...
read morePhysicality-Locality Problems
We have lost the art of making simple, meaningful conversation.
Somehow we have changed. Unless we’re hipsters or armchair philosophers sitting around drinking our particularly particular beverages and pontificating broadly about the world’s ills, few of us take the time to engage in thorough-going intellectually stimulating conversation. Discussions about politics dribble into ‘he-said-she-said’ criticism and blame for all the world’s problems. If we even acknowledge world affairs, it’s only to talk about which side we’re on. Faith, history, philosophy, art, and music have become politically incorrect. They have become taboo by nature of their requirements. They require tension and doubt and willingness to be wrong.
Expecting the Unexpected: Luke 1:26-38
You can read Luke 1:26-38 here I’m still not sure why people use the word ‘expecting’ when talking about pregnancy. I know that some of it is societal politeness. It’s true, it does sound a bit better than saying “yeah, she’s preggers.” But honestly, the vagueness of the term disturbs me a bit. Expecting what, exactly? Expecting joy, laughter, pain, sorrow, or perhaps a new financial disaster? I use the word expecting to talk about something I have relative certainty about – I expect that the...
read moreUnfulfilled Promises, Silence and Glory
Luke’s interpretation of the Transfiguration of Jesus leaves us with numerous reflections on the promises of both Moses and Elijah.
read moreUnderwear Parade
My thoughts on this devotional are a bit risqué, so I’m giving it the “R” rating. If you don’t feel like reading my parade around in my spiritual underwear, I understand…really…no hard feelings. You can read today’s ancient text here: A different translation of this text highlights a particular passage in this chapter by formatting. It’s a passage that the ancient scribe quotes from an even more ancient prophet named Micah. The passage in Micah is actually a bit harsher than the one that Matthew...
read moreAsking for Signs
Read the text here Verses 29 to 32 resounded in my head… My initial questions: Who was asking for a sign? How was Jonah a sign to the Ninevites? Who is the Queen of the South? How will the people of Nineveh judge this generation? So then I read forward and backward in the ancient text in order to try to put this in context. So what did I find? I found a simple version of a famous Prayer. I found a story about a persistent neighbour. A story of Jesus casting out a demon. And the explanation that we are full of Light. Verses 11:1-12 Jesus...
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