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Food for thought – and for getting things done

I had lunch yesterday with a friend from my church. It was actually a get-to-know-you-better meeting, as we’ve crossed paths a number of times at different events and activities, and realized that we have many interests and values in common. Even from brief conversations and from tidbits and snippets of information we’ve shared, we knew we wanted to learn more about each other. It was a lovely lunch, the kind where it takes a while to order because you start talking right away and find [...]

By |February 3rd, 2018|Columns, Faith, Uganda, Values|Comments Off on Food for thought – and for getting things done

Sharing the view from a different direction

“It’s a good thing y’all are Yankees,” he told us, “’cause you’re way more organized than we are.” For the record, there were five of us at the meeting. One was a New Jersey native, one was a Midwesterner (that’s me, and you will never find my picture in the dictionary next to the word “organized”), and three were born-and-raised-in-the-South Georgians. Everyone laughed, and no one took offense at the comment. And that felt good. Not only do discussions and debates these days seem to [...]

By |January 27th, 2018|Columns, Health and Well-being, Values|Comments Off on Sharing the view from a different direction

Oprah for President?

Like many people, I watched the Golden Globe Awards last Sunday night, and was blown away by Oprah Winfrey’s speech as she accepted the Cecil B. DeMille Award for Lifetime Achievement. It was inspiring, empowering, and it made me feel as though, yes, a new day is dawning, and the world is about to change for the better. At no point did it occur to me, however, that this was a political speech, or the launch of a political career for Oprah. That changed the [...]

By |January 12th, 2018|Columns, Gifts and Talents, Respect, Values|Comments Off on Oprah for President?

Searching for ways to calm the storms

Until this past week, I had never heard of a bomb cyclone. But it’s formidable-sounding enough that I knew it referred to a nasty storm, even before I saw it described as “blizzard conditions and hurricane-like winds.” Shortly before Christmas, I saw a weather report about Winter Storm Dylan, which was dumping snow, sleet, and freezing rain in the Northeast.  Again, I thought, “I’ve never heard of that before.” I’m very familiar with winter storms, of course, having spent almost 60 years of my life [...]

By |January 5th, 2018|Columns, Health and Well-being, Making a Difference, Quotes and Sayings, Values|Comments Off on Searching for ways to calm the storms

A New Year Filled with Faith

I’m one of those people who still makes New Year’s Resolutions, and they’ve always been the subject of one of my columns each year – a practice I plan to continue with my blog. When I sat down to write this morning, I was all set to write about my resolution to deal with “unfinished business” – projects started but not completed, unanswered email, and some boxes and bins that still haven’t been unpacked from our move. But then I got a phone call from [...]

A simple solution to a Christmas dilemma

I was on the treadmill at the health club the other day. Two women near me were talking about their holiday plans and preparations. One of them was going through the list of people she still needed to buy gifts for, and saying how difficult it was to figure out what to buy for her young nieces and nephews. Plus, she had to ship some of the gifts, and she wasn’t looking forward to standing in line at the post office. “That’s why Thanksgiving is [...]

By |December 22nd, 2017|Columns, Faith, Family, Holidays, Values|Comments Off on A simple solution to a Christmas dilemma

Practice gratitude every day

For all those who are celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday this weekend, I hope you’ve been having a wonderful time with family and friends, and that you have taken the time to recognize and acknowledge the many things in your life for which you are thankful. Gratitude is not something to be acknowledged on just one day or weekend during the year, of course. So I hope you will also take this opportunity to begin, right now, a practice of expressing gratitude every day – to [...]

By |November 24th, 2017|Columns, Faith, Family, Holidays, Values|Comments Off on Practice gratitude every day

A glimpse of heaven

“This must be what heaven is like.” It was in the middle of our book club meeting that one of our members made this comment. She wasn’t actually talking about our book club – although I certainly consider it heavenly to spend an afternoon or evening in thoughtful conversation with people whose company I enjoy and whose opinions I respect. However, her comment related to an excursion with an elderly relative. At one point during our meeting, our discussion led into stories about caring for [...]

By |November 18th, 2017|Columns, Family, Values|Comments Off on A glimpse of heaven

That’s the way the cookie crumbles

It seemed like a good idea at the time, but now I’m not so sure. I’m hosting our neighborhood book club meeting next week, and the book we’re reading this month is one I wrote. It includes 30 of my columns from the Chanhassen Villager – most of them dealing with nuggets of insight and inspiration that can be found in everyday life. Our book club meetings begin with lunch at noon, followed by the book discussion. Since several of my columns mention different foods [...]

By |November 10th, 2017|Columns, Family, Values, Writing|2 Comments

Learning to appreciate the simple life

“We don’t take a vow of poverty,” he told us. “We take a vow of simplicity.” The person speaking was a Trappist monk who was leading the retreat I attended at my church last weekend. At the start of the retreat, he shared some of his background, answered some questions, and corrected some mistakes and misconceptions about what his day-to-day life is like, adding that the beliefs many people have about monks and monasteries come more from Hollywood than they do from reality. I enjoyed [...]

By |October 27th, 2017|Columns, Faith, Values|Comments Off on Learning to appreciate the simple life