Betrayal, at its core, is a breach of trust in a valued relationship. This can happen in many ways and it can hurt on any number of levels. After a discovery of a betrayal, various feelings rise to the surface. The first is often anger, but anger tends to [...]

After my confirmation at St. Luke’s, I knew I wanted to become more involved in the church services. I primarily attended Sunday School instead of the services as a child, but as I grew older I found that I enjoyed listening to the sermons and liked the traditional [...]

There are two types of nutcrackers… those that crack nuts and those that do not. I collect nutcrackers that are usually carved of wood in the shapes of soldiers, knights, kings or other professions and are not functional for cracking nuts. Since at least the 15th century, carving [...]

A dear friend and mentor, Craig Hella Johnson, describes choosing music for a day like today as listening to “knockings” that happen deep inside. That is a very accurate picture of how certain selections seem to float to the top as the Christmas Festival takes shape in my [...]

Charles Dickens said it best in A Christmas Carol when he gave Timothy Cratchit the line, “God bless us, everyone!” Seen through the eyes of Tiny Tim, Christmas is a time of blessings and miracles. As children, we anticipate the coming of Christmas mostly because of the expectation [...]

Love is patient, love is kind, it isn’t jealous, it doesn’t brag, it isn’t arrogant, it isn’t rude, it doesn’t seek its own advantage, it isn’t irritable, it doesn’t keep a record of complaints, it isn’t happy with injustice, but it is happy with the truth.  Love puts [...]