I've always been a fan of mysteries. As a kid, I raced through Agatha Christie and Tony Hillerman and Sue Grafton. We even did those jigsaw puzzles where you could solve the mystery by the image the assembled puzzle created. Later in life, I became intrigued by mysteries that weren't so neat and tidy, ...

I have been reading the Gospel of Luke in recent days, and I came across the angel Gabriel's pronouncement to Mary: "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."

I tried to imagine myself in her position, and I envisioned a big grin on my face, feeling as if Ed McMann had just knocked ...

As the name of this blog suggests, I'm interested in "Thin Places." I'm interested in the physical spaces that feel holy, be that a mountaintop, or a cathedral, or an ancient monument. I'm even more interested in the relationships and times in life when we find ourselves in a thin place. When my mother-in-law ...

I have been reading through Matthew's Gospel these past few weeks, and I came again to the Beatitudes, those puzzling and poetic words of Jesus that have been quoted through the ages. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness," caught my attention. I don't hunger and thirst for much. ...

I once heard a sermon about becoming friends with God. The point of the sermon was to encourage everyone in attendance to spend some daily time with God, be that in prayer or reading the Bible or something else. And although I was in college at the time, I distinctly remember the preacher saying, "This ...

Although these posts are scheduled to appear while I'm away, it seems fitting that this final one in the series "God With Us" would appear on New Year's Day. May we all know new life with God in the year ahead... Happy 2010! I've been a Christian for a long time now. And yet I can say that through ...

William is 2 1/2 weeks old. He has gained almost two pounds since birth, and he has grown nearly two inches. He is beautiful–slate gray eyes and a full head of dark hair and pouty lips and long, delicate fingers and toes. He has a cleft in his chin that reminds me of his dad. He smiles when he sleeps. ...

We spend our summers in Madison, Connecticut. I forget the peacefulness of this place every year until we drive up and see the water and smell the salty air and feel the breeze. It is what the Celtic Christians called a thin place—a place where heaven and earth touch, where God seems more readily present, ...