Today, or last week, or right this minute, someone – some dreamer – is casting a vision that may trouble you or trouble me because it threatens some value we hold.

Could a mustard seed actually grow into a tree? Of all Jesus’ parables, this one does not seem so hard. The tree has room for all the birds in the nest.

The story doesn’t start at the burning bush. It starts with a God-given impulse to go farther than we might tend to go, to open ourselves up to go where God might be.

I am like my loaves of bread. The things I incorporate, the spiritual influences and personal contacts and media sources, have the power to leaven me, to transform me.

God is not above the troubles we experience but is with us in them and beyond. Even in the storm, God’s power gives us the strength we need.

How do we know how to act when everything we counted on seems to be over? First Peter recommends exercising self-control, remaining clear-headed, and serving people in need.

The suffering of grief, both present and anticipatory, is painful and real, and it will remain as long as we remain divided, as long as power is used to harm rather than heal.

How hard this season is – for God and for us! When we give in and have a good cry, we are never alone in it. For this, I am grateful.

While Martha served dinner, Mary sat on the floor and poured fragrant perfume over Jesus’ feet. To some, her behavior seemed over-the-top. But sometimes too much is just right.

Perfectionism may leave us paralyzed, afraid to do anything for fear of getting it wrong. My tangle with this word, perfected, distracts me from the truth: God is love.