Category Archives: Faith

A Darkness Upon Us

I attended a vigil with the Congregation Ahavath Chesed at their Temple in Jacksonville. It was a moving ceremony remembering the eleven people killed and several wounded at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood, gunned down by the automatic weapons fire of a hate-filled man who said, when apprehended, that “all […]

Fog rolled into our coastal community last week.  I walked in the early morning onto the wooden access ramp and looked out toward the beach, but couldn’t see the ocean.  It was a bit eerie because the sound of the pounding surf was deafening, so it was obvious that the ocean — a mere hundred […]

For the New Year

Maybe 2017 was a wonderful year for you, filled with health, happiness, bounty and prosperity.  Perhaps you felt like the psalmist David, so overwhelmed with the blessings of God that he could barely contain himself, singing: “From where the sun rises to where it sets, you inspire shouts of joy” (Psalm 65:8 NLT). And amid those […]

Broken Shells

I live in a coastal town, and the beach is often where I walk or exercise.  My wife and I also enjoy winding down in the evenings together by strolling south to the decades old pylons anchored in the sand, especially at low tide when the beach is as wide as two football fields. Walks […]

An Audience of One

No one likes to be overlooked or ignored, especially when it comes to any good deeds that we do.  That is why people have through the ages made it a point to do their good deeds or religious acts in a way that achieves maximum visibility or exposure.  Whether it is through long, flowery and […]

When my wife and I had our fourth child, we knew we needed to move.  We had already added onto our starter home with child #3, and simply had no will, or room, to engage in another construction project.  So, we began looking at homes, and thought, after considerable time, that we had finally found […]

Foundation

The newest skyscraper in Chicago is 150 North Riverside, a shiny class A office building clad in blue and silver reflective glass and granite, tucked on the Chicago River between Lake and Randolph Streets. The building is quite handsome, but the aesthetics are truly overwhelmed by its startling structural design, featuring what seems to be a […]

Drift Away

The summer of 1973 is a fond memory for me.  As a young teenager in Maryland, my Dad’s military station at the time, life seemed pretty care-free, and the things that made me smile were simple: riding my bike, sandlot baseball with my buddies, and those long days of summer when we kids would leave […]

Jesus clearly had a special place in his heart for poor, vulnerable and disenfranchised people.  With respect to the poor, they were specifically highlighted throughout his earthly ministry, from beginning to end.  You’ll recall that when Jesus’ ministry started, he went to his hometown of Nazareth, entered the Synagogue and read from the scroll of […]

Seasons

I’m on the eve of another birthday.  I can’t say I mind, but it is striking to contemplate being on the downslope of my 50s, barreling full-speed toward the big “six-oh”.  Thinking about birthdays over the years hasn’t been too troublesome for me, but I do remember feeling a bit “rocked” when I turned 30.  Seems […]