Author Archives: watchwordsblog

I am not a little bit of many things; but I am the sufficient representation of many things. I am not an incompletion of all these races; but I am a masterpiece of the prolific. I am an entirety, I am not a lack of anything; rather I am a whole of many things. GodContinue reading “God Is “Three In One”…”

Wherever you are, be there totally. If you find your here and now intolerable and it makes you unhappy, you have three options: remove yourself from the situation, change it, or accept it totally. If you want to take responsibility for your life, you must choose one of those three options, and you must chooseContinue reading “Be There Totally…”

There were moments when it hurt so bad you couldn’t breathe, yet somehow you survived the pain. There were days when you could barely put one foot in front of the other, yet somehow you arrived at your destination. There were nights when you cried yourself to sleep, yet somehow you held on until theContinue reading “When It Hurt So Bad…”

Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you. Anne Lamott Meditation: During our recent United Church of Christ (UCC) annual meeting I met an African American male pastor who had not taken a vacation since 2003. When he finally took one week off and went on a cruiseContinue reading “Clergy Burnout…”

I’m still experimenting. Stevie Wonder Meditation: The older we get, the less likely we are to experiment, make changes or try out new things. Our brain  gets easily used to certain patterns and habits. The older we become, the more we cherish rituals and predictable ways of being in the world. However, artists and creativeContinue reading “Experimenting – At My Age?…”

You can clutch the past so tightly to your chest that it leaves your arms too full to embrace the present. Jan Glidewell Meditation: As I am sorting in my basement through eleven years of stored items of the past, I am being challenged to let go of many of my daughters’ childhood toys andContinue reading “For Every Thing There Is A Season…”

“The best way to find out what we really need is to get rid of what we don’t.” Marie Kondō Meditation: Since we moved into our home eleven years ago, our basement has been a place where everything went that we did not need anymore, or for things that we could not let go of,Continue reading “Decluttering Our Lives…”

Unease, anxiety, tension, stress, worry — all forms of fear — are caused by too much future, and not enough presence. Guilt, regret, resentment, grievances, sadness, bitterness, and all forms of non-forgiveness are caused by too much past, and not enough presence. Eckhart Tolle Meditation: The “Kingdom of God” means “God here and now”. ItContinue reading “Being Present…”

The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls and tenements halls and whispered in the sounds of silence. Paul Simon Meditation: At the age of 21 Paul Simon wrote the song “Sounds of Silence” about the inability of people to communicate with each other especially emotionally. What Simon saw around him wereContinue reading “Sounds Of Silence…”

The bond between friends cannot be broken by chance; no interval of time or space can destroy it. Not even death itself can part true friends. John Cassian Meditation: It has been six months since my best Kindergarten friend died. I saw her last a year ago when I visited her in Germany. At theContinue reading “When The Best Friend Dies…”