Dear Friends, A few years ago I was a bit pessimistic about the way things were going in our country. Well, maybe, a lot pessimistic. It was hard to get my brain past the immediacy of what was happening in our world. It didn’t take me long to realize that my attitude was not helpful. It needed some adjusting.  So I decided to focus on gratitude, specifically starting each day by name three things I was thankful for. This practice was helpful as it reminded me that no matter w

Dear Friends, Oh no, another story about painting! As you’ve read over the past couple years, I am learning to paint. I’ve actually improved a lot in the time I have been with you. And this is due to taking lots of classes. Since April, some friends and I have gathered for an afternoon of a video lesson and lunch. It’s been great fun. At the end of every lesson, the instructor says, “I’m going to call this done.” I’ve learned the important lesson that sometimes you just need

Dear Friends, Happy rainy Saturday! A friend and I are taking an Urban Landscape Painting class at the Santa Paula Art Museum. This is a six-week in-person class, the meets on Saturdays.  During class, the instructor will announce that it is break time, which means it’s time to step away from my project. Why take a break? The obvious reason is that small breaks in whatever we are doing are helpful ways to give our minds a break.  While painting it is helpful to step away from

Dear Friends, I hope that you are all have a nice weekend. Mine will be busy, with some fun activities, a memorial service for a friend, a vet visit with my dog, and a Sunday night football game. It is one of these weekends when just thinking about it makes me tired! Do you ever experience this? I subscribe to a legal news reporter named Chris Geidner (Law Dork). For context Chris is gay. He wrote about an event this week that reminded me of the importance of integrity in our

Hello friends, This weekend we celebrate All Saints Day. Some might think the word celebrate is too upbeat for such a solemn occasion as remembering our loved ones who have died. For the most part, I think this is a perfect word for remembering. The exception being when someone is in deep grief, they might not be in a place to celebrate. We could say commemorate the lives those who have died on All Saints Sunday. That feels appropriate. But still, to celebrate the impact that

Dear Friends, Happy Reformation weekend. No matter what is going on in the world around us, recognizing the Reformation provides us opportunity to be thankful for the ability to learn, grow, and change our thinking. Humility in what we think we know is a gift. Tomorrow is a special day for other reasons as well. First, Chelsea, Jaffa, and I will finish our long Holy Migration series by sharing our own insights. We invite you to share yours as well. Then we will accept new mem

Hello friends, This week I headed out to La Quinta for a gathering of pastors, deacons, and other church leaders. I always enjoy these events because they provide opportunity for some spiritual refreshment alongside learning. This time the refreshment was in the invitation to think about my relationships with God, others, the world, and myself as spiritual. Obviously, I think of my relationship with God as spiritual. But adding in all those other ways that I am in relationshi

Hello friends, Since May, a friend and I have gathered at my house most Wednesdays to paint. We use an online acrylic painting lesson; we take turns providing lunch and often laugh as we work our way through whatever lesson was chosen for the week. Some of the paintings that I share in this newsletter were painted on these Wednesday afternoons. The photo I am sharing was taken upon completion of a lesson. I loved how much space each of us needed! Or, one could say we are a bi

Hello friends, While flying home from our vacation, I looked out my window just as we were flying over Lake Powell. I took the photo to...

Hello friends, This is just a quick note for you all as I am continuing my vacation. As you read this we will have gone from Spain to...

Dear Friends, This week I’m at the ELCA Systems Academy. My plan for the newsletter was to share some learning from this week, but quite...

Dear Friends, This week in bible study, we talked about how our actions are often more powerful than our words. This reminded me of a...

Dear Friends, A year ago this week we celebrated the arrival of our first grandchild. Today we gather with family and friends to...

Dear Friends, Happy Labor Day weekend! Or our traditional end of summer… which is a bit crazy since September and October are often...

Dear Friends, As many of you know, I like to paint as a hobby. For the past few months I’ve been gathering with a couple friends to do...

Dear Friends, This is a fund update from my March 22 nd  newsletter. In that newsletter I shared with you a letter that I wrote for a...

Dear Friends, This is my last post from the book, “Rule Makers, Rule Breakers: Tight and Loose Cultures and the Secret Signals that...

Dear Friends, I am continuing to read and share from the book, “Rule Makers, Rule Breakers: Tight and Loose Cultures and the Secret...

Dear Friends, This week I began a book titled, “Rule Makers, Rule Breakers: Tight and Loose Cultures and the Secret Signals that Direct...

Dear Friends, What a joy it was to celebrate ALC’s anniversary last week. I loved the stories that some of you shared. They told of a...