On Saturday afternoon, David and I took a bike ride to downtown Indy. We were clueless of what had happened the night before, nor of what was happening at that moment as protesters gathered at Monument Circle. When we circled back toward home, we came upon a group of a...

Hello, friends—

The last three months have been indescribably odd and void of so many things that have typically given us life. It’s so quiet around here. No guests showing up on our doorstep. No retreatants gathered around our table, engaging in rich and satisfying con...

Remember junior high English class when you learned about metaphors and similes? They’re potent terms of comparison. The only difference is that similes compare two things using like or as. In my opinion, there’s nothing like a great metaphor or simile to capture the h...

This weekend, as Beth and I were walking at Crown Hill Cemetery, I confessed that this forced adjustment to our work and our community was beginning to feel a bit like a pre-cursor to retirement. Maybe a cemetery is not the best place to reflect on questions like this,...

Behind the scenes we've been working on a new project - Examen Qs. And they just arrived!     

The principal “power tools” of spiritual direction and contemplative spirituality are well-timed, clearly stated questions that prompt reflection. We've cr...

Yesterday as I was making my bed, I noticed I was doing it more attentively. 

Smoothing edges. 
Tucking corners. 
Fluffing pillows. 
Making sure the comforter was in place, just right. 

As I did it, I felt an awakening to something that I don’t usually feel when I am mak...

As these weeks drag on, I continue to feel off-kilter, pretty much all-day-every-day. I notice how often I search for words to describe my experience and ways to understand my disorientation. Today I have a new word to add to jitters, discombobulation, and the fertile...

If you are like me, you may find yourself prone to numbing out in this extended time of isolation. This is how it looks in my life:

Carb loading
Social media surfing
Mindless mental wandering
Extended times of inactivity

In the midst of my choices I am noticing a quiet n...

My favorite place to go is the North Shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota. I spent a few days there in February; the untamed north reminds me of what I read in Romans 1:20, which reads: “Ever since the creation of the world, God’s eternal power and divine nature... have...

Anytime someone has asked me how I’m doing during this crisis I notice myself stumbling over my words to answer them. Not because I’m uncomfortable to say, but because it’s simply hard to describe how I feel. And it’s even harder to explain why I feel the way I do.

A fe...