We grow not by memorizing principles but by hearing stories. We imagine ourselves in circumstances and ask how we would respond. We examine stories that have been handed down to us, such as those in the Bible, and ask how those stories play out in our lives. from...
Our mission is to plant ourselves at the gates of Hope — not the prudent gates of Optimism, which are somewhat narrower; nor the stalwart, boring gates of Common Sense; nor the strident gates of Self-Righteousness, which creak on shrill and angry hinges (people cannot...
The beauty of Christian spirituality is that the God we are in relationship with is for us in Christ. Like the father in the prodigal son story, God is waiting with his eyes looking for us in the distance. He is waiting to embrace us. This image might take some...
Spiritual practice is not just sitting and meditating. Practice is looking, thinking, touching, drinking, eating, and talking. Every act, every breath, and every step can be practice and can help us to become more ourselves.
Listening is where love begins: listening to ourselves and then to our neighbors.
When we see others as the enemy, we risk becoming what we hate. When we oppress others, we end up oppressing ourselves. All of our humanity is dependent upon recognizing the humanity in others.
The problem with accepting truth as it comes to us rather than truth as we divine it for ourselves is that it's not worth dying for--and we don't. It becomes a patina of ideas inside of which we live our lives without passion, without care. This kind of faith happens...
Our idea of God tells us more about ourselves than about Him.-------------------------------Gender-neutral version: Our idea of God tells us more about ourselves than about God.
The giving of ourselves to Christ is not the decision of an hour or a day, it is the work of a lifetime, with a new commitment every morning and a fresh surrender every night, until death finally seals our offering and our commitment is complete.
When we choose to be parents, we accept another human being as part of ourselves, and a large part of our emotional selves will stay with that person as long as we live. From that time on, there will be another person on this earth whose orbit around us will affect us...