I met someone the world has forsaken today, and it made my life all the richer. I thought I had something to offer her but it turned out she had so much more to offer me. Two Saturdays a month, our church provides lunch to the local homeless and migrant workers. Today was our small group's turn to prepare, serve and share the meal. Confession. While, in theory, I support this charitable service and believe in teaching our kids firsthand to serve and appreciate everything we have, in practice, the Saturdays we're to help always feel like the busiest, most inconvenient, already overbooked … [Read more...]
Why This Christmas Promises to be Meaningful
I don't know whether any of you can empathize, friends, but the holidays have always brought with them a tinge of melancholy and disappointment for me. I haven't quite put my finger on why, but I wonder whether it might have to do with the fact that all the commercial, media and societal hype leading up to and about Christmas usually turns out to be a bit anticlimactic in reality. Hollywood and television specials tends to portray the holidays as a marvelous, cheerful time marked by huge family gatherings (where everyone proudly dons tacky Christmas sweaters), joyous reunions, magical … [Read more...]