On Being “Worthy”
I have a friend who is going through a faith crisis at the moment, and she recently said that she was not “worthy” of God’s love or forgiveness. I was writing to her to discuss this idea when I realized that there might be other people I know who are also struggling. So my letter […]
“… having done Your will with cheerfulness …”
O God, the King eternal, whose light divides the day from the night and turns the shadow of death into the morning: Drive far from us all wrong desires, incline our hearts to keep your law, and guide our feet into the way of peace; that, having done your will with cheerfulness during the day, […]
Daddy
Usually, I don’t bother much with the manufactured holidays. But this year, I have found Father’s Day to be a compelling topic of thought. So I want to tell my readers about Daddy. I am fortunate to still have my Daddy. So many of my friends have lost their dads, or their dads are in […]
You Do What You Train To
I took a self-defence seminar hosted by my karate school on May 1. I enjoyed it immensely and learned a lot that will help me as I advance through the ranks. Gained a little confidence on some of the basic skills, and got a few pre-set sequences to click. But I also learned something very […]
On Blessing and Being Blessed
I learned an important lesson from a room-mate nearly fifteen years ago, and some recent events have brought it to mind again. The lesson is about blessing and being blessed. In the mid-90s, I was working in the Chicago metropolitan area. The majority of the staff lived in company-owned housing, in an arrangement similar to […]
Multi-Tasking Causes Stress
Some time ago, I began reading Alex Lickerman’s blog. It’s interesting to read about the philosophy and outlook of a man who is actively practising Buddhism. And occasionally (more often than not), I find in his posts a touchstone — one of those universal truths that transcends religious creed and just is true. Today’s post contains one […]
Religion at Work
I’ve been pondering this post for many weeks now, because I have come across something that disturbs me, greatly, but putting it into words has not been easy. I read the Brazen Careerist blog, by Penelope Trunk. I don’t recommend it to many people because her subject matter is often totally NSFW (not suitable for […]
Degrees of Sin
We tend, in our human minds, to think of levels or degrees of sin. There’s the little white lie that “doesn’t hurt anybody,” and there’s the really evil-wicked-mean-bad-and-nasty stuff like murder and rape. So we see Hitler as this depraved man responsible for the murder of six million Jews, and think “He’s a terrible sinner!” But […]