Sacred Everyday

How do you experience the divine presence in an average day? This topic has become one of my favorite things to chat about. I have found two powerful trends that seem to be developing. First: Depending on your phase of life, there are certain ‘givens’ that seem to be assumed and everything else becomes a ‘variable’. In the formula of life, the question seems to hinge on either how to manipulate (change) the...

This I prayed:  Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. And then I, at a very tender age, would lie awake pondering my death. A bedtime ritual I could have done without. Maybe I’ve just discovered a root of all my behavior problems. You know the premarital counsel: Never go to bed angry. I lost a lot of sleep over that one too. There is always a new...

My mom was very creative, extremely talented and had good taste. She sewed tents and prom dresses, made art from nature, sugar easter eggs with intricate scenes inside, decorated cakes and much more. I learned to appreciate how focused Mom could be on her craft amid piles of laundry and dishes. She would not allow housework to interrupt her flow. She knew the value of time away. I don’t mean to brag but I feel like I have plenty of...

In the course of my life so far, I have developed and leaned into what Tish Harrison Warren calls “habits of adoration” in her chapter on sanctuary and savoring. God wired me with an eye for beauty and a heart tuned to wonder. My personality lends itself to delight, and if you know me well, you know that well. Whether it’s closing my eyes when I taste something delicious, or cheering aloud every time I see Mount Hood, or completely...

The little things that give us joy. Finding those in the quiet moments is the charge from Tish Harrison Warren’s chapter, ‘Drinking Tea: Sanctuary and Savoring’. For me this is easy — my wife’s eyes crinkle at the corner when she smiles. She smiles a lot — a little less now that we are in our older years and her knees hurt and the kids are farther away and the Portland rains persists, but when she...

I’ve long been a fan of Krista Tippett’s radio show, On Being. A few years ago, soon after I’d started attending church again after a 20-odd year hiatus, I grew particularly enamored of Krista’s interview with Martin Sheen. It seemed strange to me at first, not knowing anything about Sheen’s faith life, that he’d be on the show. After I listened to the interview once though, I went back to it again and again, mostly to experience the...