One Monday evening this spring, I was walking around our house feeling like I had forgotten something important. Our anniversary? No, that isn’t until June. A big game on TV? No, March Madness ended in, well, April. “Still reading” an overdue library book? Ah, maybe. Then it hit me: this was the first time in six years that I wasn’t in a Vestry meeting on the second Monday of the month. You see, from 2020 through 2026 I was Rector’s Warden at Church of the Good Samaritan in

Forbearance is one of my strengths. Except when people get on my nerves. That’s a different story. Let me give you an example. Some time ago I went to the store to pick up a few small items. At the checkout, the total came to $4.23. I handed the cashier a ten-dollar bill and reached into my pocket for change. All I had was two dimes, two pennies, and some lint—twenty-two cents. I held it out, thinking the cashier might have a spare penny somewhere. In my experience, most do

I’m thinking of changing my resume. Why? Because all my career I haven’t really been telling the truth. Don’t worry, all the positions and dates are accurate. But I haven’t told the whole truth—that in addition to the good things I’ve done, there have been a few stumbles along the way. I’ve been pleased not to announce that. Bullet Point History But recently I did a “bullet point history” of my career. I listed all the positions I’ve held and the dates for each. Next, I a

You’ve heard of carpe diem , right? Latin for “seize the day.” People quote it like it’s a verse from the Bible. But guess what—it’s not in there. Go ahead—try to find it! But there’s a bigger problem with it: seize the day assumes this world is all there is. So, grab what you can, while you can. Really? If this world is all there is, why bother seizing anything? So I want to propose something better—just as memorable, but with a different starting point. Carpe diem sa

Are you more anxious than you were four years ago? Probably so, for all kinds of reasons. The question is: how can you get your anxiety meter out of the red zone...before you explode? Let me offer 5 tips that may help. 1. Less…Noise. In our hyper-connected world, it’s easy to be captivated by the barrage of information, much of it designed to stir up fear, outrage, or confusion. Keeping the television on in the background or constantly checking our smartphones allows