I am currently preparing for a conference on stewardship and so perhaps it’s not surprising that I read Norman MacCaig’s poem “Small Boy” through that lens. His musing on the need to practice letting things go…and the difficulty most of us have in doing just that, I find not just...
Matthew 11:25-30
posted by DJL
At that time Jesus said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one...
A Stroke of Insight
posted by DJL
Jill Bolte Taylor’s TED Talk on what she calls her “stroke of insight” is one of the top two or three most viewed Talks of all time. And for good reason. A brain scientist, Dr. Taylor suffered a stroke and immediately became aware of, and an informed witness to, what was going on in her brain as her brain-controlled abilities to speak, move, and ultimately be consciously aware shut down one by one. What she learned, how that experience changed her life, and what she invites us to consider, is well worth the eighteen minutes of this talk. (And if you enjoy the Talk, you may be interested in her book about her experience: My Stroke of...
Matthew 11:20-24
posted by DJL
Then he began to reproach the cities in which most of his deeds of power had been done, because they did not repent. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and...
Practicing Generosity
posted by DJL
Christians know a secret about generosity. Generosity is not the fruit of success or happiness or security. It is, instead, the source of all these things. Actually, it’s not only Christians who know this. Seth Godin, one of my favorite thinkers, puts it this way: Here’s conventional wisdom: Success makes you happy. Happiness permits you to be generous. In fact, it actually works like this: Generosity makes you happy. Happy people are more likely to be successful. Christians have sometimes named the “conventional” wisdom Godin talks about “worldly” wisdom, as it expresses the sensibilities that governs the world rather than...