Giving Thanks To God

I hold and believe that I am God’s creature, that is, that God has given me and constantly sustains my body, soul, and life, my members great and small, all my senses, my reason and understanding, and the like; my food and drink, clothing, nourishment, spouse and children, servants, house...

Charis & Colleagues Jun12

Charis & Colleagues

I spent the better part of yesterday in a four-and-a-half-hour long faculty meeting. Yes, you read that right: 4.5 hours, 270 minutes, 16,200 seconds. But before you start feeling sorry for me (at least those who know faculty meetings well enough to generate sympathy), let me hasten to add…that I loved it. Why? Because the lion’s share of the work we accomplished was the review of every student at The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. Yeah, every…single…student – well over 200, btw, in case you’re wondering. Admittedly, we gave particular attention to those who were struggling in some way, so didn’t celebrate...

Contagious Gratitude

Gratitude, it turns out, not only creates more happiness but it’s contagious. After Soul Pancake released their video on Gratitude – part of their larger series on “The Science of Happiness” – they invited their audience to shoot and upload videos of them sharing their gratitude with...

i thank You God for most this amazing Nov23

i thank You God for most this amazing

e. e. cummings’ unconvential use of grammar, syntax, and style forces you to slow down as you read his poetry in order, not just to decipher, but more to savor the meaning he is crafting and offering over to his reader. Born into a Unitarian family, cummings’ poetry is infused with a sense of God – God’s Being, God’s presence in nature, and God’s goodness, a goodness that in turn prompts cummings’ profound and lyrical gratitude. With that in mind, this seemed like a fine poem to tarry over for a few moments as we move toward Thanksgiving, a day we also ought to slow down and savor, offering our own...

Philippians 4:5b-6

The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. I wasn’t sure whether to include the powerful statement, “The Lord is near,” as the end of the last verse – the way it’s marked in...