Expressing Gratitude

Making assumptions almost always gets us into trouble, and assuming someone knows we appreciate his or her efforts is sure to create problems.  Gratitude should never go unexpressed! If we want to live in a world where courtesy is the rule rather than the exception, we need to create the world we desire with our [...]

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Walk the Talk

“Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is God’s footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.  And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.  Let your word [...]

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Free To Love

            Though we may feel trapped by emotions emanating from fear, such as anger, frustration, or impatience, we are always free.  No experience, emotion, action, or reaction has the power to bind us and prevent us from receiving and offering love.  When we fail to choose love, we have no one [...]

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Awareness and Detachment

Nearly all spiritual paths stress the complementary practices of awareness and detachment.  Jesus said “consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, [awareness] yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the [...]

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I Matter To God

If I consider the sheer numbers of human beings on this planet or the vastness of the universe, I may struggle to conceive of how I could matter much in the grand scheme of life.  If life were something whose value could be determined through mathematics or accounting, biology or physics, this line of thought [...]

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Building Strong Character

How do you build a strong house?  One brick, one board, one nail at a time. Character is built the same way.  Jesus spent a great deal of time teaching this reality.  One of the most often misinterpreted sayings attributed to him suddenly becomes clear when seen as referring to the nature of character: “Pay [...]

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The Wolf Inside You

Sharon Watkins, General Minister of the Christian Church, (Disciples of Christ), in her sermon for the National Prayer Service earlier today, offered the following old story.  I have heard it before, but it bears repeating now and again. The Wolves Inside You An elder Native American was teaching his grandchildren about life. He said to [...]

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The Power of Belief

Yesterday, CNN.com reported that most Americans believe we have fulfilled the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  (http://tinyurl.com/6vnvvu)  I was surprised and gratified upon hearing that report.  What we believe, whether in regard to race relations or any other subject, is a determining factor in what we can or will accomplish. If we do [...]

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Harmony

          Listen to the harmony of life!  Voices sing the same tune in different ranges and create an expansive, exhilarating sound.  Watch an orchestra perform.  Hands move in time to the conductor’s wand, instruments rise to lips in time with each other, each in turn contributes to the rise and fall, the [...]

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Charity Is Essential

          We can pass through life under the illusion we are disconnected individuals.  In our waking dreams we can believe that we are defined by our bodies.  In reality, though, we are one with others; the experiences we gain through our physical senses can serve to awaken us or deepen our sleep.  [...]

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