A Beacon of Light

“Do not spoil  what you have  by desiringwhat you have not.”   Ann Brashares There’s a fine line between being content and being complacent, but that’s not what I want to focus on this morning. Today I would rather focus on gratitude — being grateful for what we already have. Kathy and I have a home.…

“It is in  our hands  to make a  difference.”  Nelson Mandela Finding meaning in life often comes from recognizing our impact on others. Throughout my professional career, I found meaning in the work I did as an educator. I honestly believe that, despite my imperfections, I made a positive impact on the lives of most…

“A Sunday  well-spent  brings a week  of content.”English Proverb My Sunday was well-spent yesterday. This is not to say that other Sundays have been wasted, just that yesterday was one of the better ones. I woke up early, drove to San Francisco, and spent a good part of the day visiting with friends at Java…

“The more words you use, the less you actually say.” Jefferson Fisher It’s Sunday morning! I hope you have some exciting plans for your day. If, by chance, your Sunday schedule includes attending a church service, I hope you have the opportunity to experience a thoughtful, provocative, and inspiring homily. I never take a good homily for granted. One…

“Self-acceptance is without condition; it means that you accept yourself as is, flaws and all.” Heather Lonczak In the mid-1980’s, U.S. Catholic Magazine published an article titled “Cafeteria Catholicism: Do We Have to Eat Everything on Our Plate?” I was coordinating a young adult ministry program at a Catholic parish in Silicon Valley at the time. The title of this…

“Kintsugi  has transcended  mere repair  to touch upon  values  and ways of  holding your heart.” Sho Takeshita The Japanese art of kintsugi, sometimes called kintsukuroi, is the practice of repairing broken pottery with lacquer mixed with gold. As is illustrated in the photo above, kintsugi can turn a broken object into a masterpiece of art. The…

“Parting is suchsweet sorrow.” William Shakespeare As we grow older, one of the more difficult facts of life we learn to accept is that not every relationship is meant to last forever. It seems to be fairly common that people write others out of their lives for a variety of reasons. Some of those reasons are…