Summer Seeds Are Falling Like Leaves
If you were to walk the streets of my neighborhood these days, you could be forgiven for thinking it’s autumn. The portions of sidewalks and yards under trees are carpeted with piles—but those are not piles of leaves. Instead, if you were to step closer, you would...
The Challenging Gift of Communal Living
I seldom get sick, but I’ve ended up in urgent care twice over the past month. The first time was for fever and body aches and fear of COVID-19, despite the fact that I’m fully vaccinated. The second time, just last week, was because of a wicked sore throat that I...
Coexisting in a Crowded World
A couple of weeks ago I got a surprise on my morning walk. As you can see from the photo above, I encountered a family of javelinas in one of the parks in my neighborhood. They weren’t happy to see me, and most of them ran quickly by (making them appear somewhat...
Contemplating Another Fire Season in the Desert Southwest
It’s fire season here in Arizona. There are multiple fires burning across the state, exacerbated by drought conditions that blanket the entire state and, in fact, the entire American Southwest. Yes, deserts are dry places, but most deserts get at least some rain, and...
Inviting Chaos in Service of Improvement
Our house is in chaos at the moment. After living in the same place for longer than we ever have in our married lives, it’s time to replace the worn-out carpeting in the living areas and hallways of our home. (With the exception of bedrooms, the idea of carpeted...
Handling the Heat of Summer
Summer heat has arrived here in southern Arizona. The mercury is now hitting triple digits every afternoon. This is typical for summer, but the low desert climate does bring its challenges. My vegetable garden is populated with non-native plants (everything from...
Pondering Identity, Social Location, and Justice This Memorial Day
The past week has seen a lot of retrospective commentary around the year since George Floyd was murdered by a uniformed police officer while other officers looked on and did nothing. I’ve heard interviews with social leaders saying both that change has happened in the...
Revisioning Experience in the Spiritual Tricycle
Recently I listened to Richard Rohr talk in a webinar about the three wheels of the spiritual “tricycle”: Experience, Scripture, and Tradition (which he discusses in his book The Universal Christ). He spoke of how, historically, Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches...
Caring for the Caregivers
One of the gifts in my life is my spiritual directors’ peer supervision group. We meet monthly to support each other in our ministries of spiritual guidance. Last week, I “presented myself” in relation to a situation that arose in a recent spiritual guidance session....
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