During the twenty years that we lived overseas, I often lost track of upcoming American holidays. Before wide-spread internet connection, I have to admit that the last Monday of May was usually spent with end of the year parties and summer plans. Yet, I vividly remember my first Memorial Day weekend back in the states in 2007. As …
Decapitation is Death
Drawing his neck upward, he wrenched his mouth open in a final, silent cry — the last gesture he would ever make. The bull’s severed head, pooling now in it’s own blood, stood upright by the stump of his neck in the dusty arena. The nearby ritual of the Malaysian priest was lost to me. All I could see …
Ponderings on Halloween
It was our first Chinese New Year in Taiwan. Everything took us by surprise. The incense, the fireworks, the cleansing of homes, businesses, and cemeteries. But, most interesting were the banners across every outer door. Calligraphed on strips of red paper, these rhythmic blessings were affixed in triplicate — one over the door frame, and one on each side. …
Your Best Resolution
My dear child, Every year at this time, you seek to make new resolutions. Sometimes it has to do with habits of eating – sometimes with habits of attitude – sometimes with habits of diligence. But rarely, if ever, are those goals sustained. Ever wonder why? It’s because they are always about you. You are still …
The Smell of Heaven
Because the idea of having a spiritual “sense of smell” is so hard for me to grasp, I’ve been bouncing it off others. After one of my recent retreats, a lady quietly related to me the following story: “Several years ago, I was sitting at the death bed of my godly aunt, whom we all respected dearly. At …