What Forgiveness is…

Ever take a poorly trained labrador retriever for a walk? It’s tricky. and chaotic. and a little crazy…maybe even feeling a little dangerous. As a matter of fact…who’d you be kidding…it would be the dog taking YOU for a walk. The dog would decide how fast you’d go, when you’d stop, and how far off …

Listen to your Body

Sabrina Friesen, a therapist with us at Bergen and Associates, sent me a link this week to a blog entry that I found pretty cool…it said, in part: That’s when my body started talking to me. You’ve got to trust me. When I am hungry I will tell you. You’ll hear it in chambered echos, …

A Prayer of Disturbance

Disturb us, Lord, when We are too pleased with ourselves, When our dreams have come true Because we dreamed too little, When we arrived safely Because we sailed too close to the shore. Disturb us, Lord, when with the abundance of things we possess We have lost our thirst For the waters of life; Having …

Is Prayer Shameful?

I was listening to a this week’s show of DNTO (Definitely Not The Opera)—the focus of the show was on prayer. A dear friend had sent me the link…as a quirky, sometimes irrereverant variety of viewpoints on prayer. I listened to a variety of people being interviewed on how and when they pray and what …

A LIttle Beauty…A Little Perspective

I find myself going over to The United Kingdom’s The Guardian page of “24 Hours in Pictures” occasionally. The pictures are stunning…images captured within a specific day around the world. Some beautiful, some remarkable, some depicting bravery or courage or suffering. It reminds me of the global community, it helps me breath deeply and get …

A Compelling Invitation to a Better Story

“…the same elements that make a movie meaningful are the ones that make a life meaningful. I knew a character had to face his greatest fears. “…the same elements that make a movie meaningful are the ones that make a life meaningful. I knew a character had to face his greatest fears. That’s the stuff …

Invitation to a Better Story

I’ve been reading A Million Miles in a Thousand years, by Donald Miller lately…a quirky, funny, thought provoking read. An excerpt I especially found myself coming back to is begins as the author is chatting with a friend whose daughter is caught up with a “bad news” boyfriend, and is experimenting with drugs: “I told …

Twinkles of Joy

So… as we say goodbye to summer and approach the upcoming winter (which is never a good thing in my books), as I continue to get used to the early rising hour that fall routine requires (I am SO not a morning person), as I spent an hour today talking to 50 students (while I’m …

Recognizing the power of our inner world

Shawn Achor looks at the “happiness advantage”…by looking at people that are particularly successful in life satisfaction and effectiveness, he discovered that what puts a person in optimal position to be effective/happy/content. I posted a blog of him a few weeks ago…but the TEDx talk where I first saw him has now been published on …