Sharing insights and inspiration that happen over a cup of tea

Sharing insights and inspiration that happen over a cup of tea

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Category: Balance

  • In difficult times, Advent reveals the reason to celebrate Christmas

    Here we are at the start of Advent, and many of us are already saturated with Christmas.                                                                                                                                  We’ve all talked about it, or griped about it – stores filled with Christmas before Jack-o-Lanterns were carved , round-the-clock Christmas movies on multiple TV stations before Thanksgiving turkeys were even delivered to the supermarkets, and an…

  • Entering the fall season with reflection, gratitude and a quiet spirit

    It’s funny how often we come across insights that resonate profoundly with our circumstances at different times in our lives. Today, I found one in my in-box, in the form of a newsletter, “Living in Season,” by Waverly Fitzgerald: “I feel that urge that so many of us feel in September to begin a new…

  • ‘A perfect dose of grace’ for all seasons

     This small but powerful book of stories is the perfect read for you when you want to reward yourself with some well-deserved quiet time! Rabbi Irwin Kula, author of “Yearnings: Embracing the Sacred Messiness of Life” wrote, “If you want to find God, know love, and truly understand these are the same, read this beautiful book. But be prepared…

  • Canine lessons are good for soul and body

    For the past week I have been dog-sitting for my son’s newest addition, Sadie.  Rescued several weeks ago from a kennel, we know very little about Sadie’s background, but her many fears, especially of enclosed spaces, like houses, rooms, or cars, provides a challenge, since she often has to be pushed or lifted to get…

  • Tempering the siren call of the ice cream truck

    On the shore at the bay there is a jungle gym area where my daily visits usually include a lesson learned in observing children at play. Yesterday’s lesson was fit for America’s Funniest Home Videos. A group of seven young children between the ages of two and eight were having a great time climbing the plastic…

  • So, what’s your spinach?

    Last week it was Pinocchio, today it’s Popeye. He came to mind when I was cooking up some spinach, of course. When I was young, I didn’t care much for this gnarly sailor. Snagglepuss was more my type. But as I got older, I had a new appreciation for Popeye’s wit and wisdom. Well before the proliferation…

  • Taken down by a nose!

    God forbid this kind of thing should ever happen to Pinnochio!   It started a few days ago, uncontrollable bloody noses, two trips to the ER, and now a face that looks like snorkel gear has been surgically implanted. The clinical name for my new attachment is an air-inflated epistaxis device, which is another name for…

  • Contributing to the sacred trust that is family

    “Make yourself useful.”    That was my father’s favorite phrase for reminding me that being part of a family carried responsibilities. Child or not, I could, and should, certainly contribute by setting and cleaning off the table, dusting the furniture, putting away groceries, and keeping my room at least clean enough that the health department wouldn’t…

  • Growth requires new ways of thinking and being

    For a number of years, I worked with a boss who encouraged us often to think outside the box, a phrase that has, today, become so commonplace as to be ordinary. Still, whenever I hear the phrase I think of him and his desire for us to engage in extraordinary thinking. While cleaning recently, I…

  • Refresh the happiness page of life

    Being the founder and facilitator of an on-line network of intercessory pray-ers has had an    unexpected perk – outside of the privilege of praying for others. The payer network, and the daily requests of those who carry the cross of Christ, has the unique ability to keep me grounded in gratitude, encouraging me to…