The mystery of human existence lies not in just staying alive, but in finding something to live for. Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov Jesus spent enough time on this planet wearing our "earth school" uniform of flesh and bone to know what we are each up against as human beings. He understood
Continue ReadingEaster service in the garden, 2018 The question I hear the most in my life is, “Farrell, where are you?” It could be my son, Charlie, calling me from the lacrosse field and I am standing in the grocery store check-out line. Or Finn calls “momma” from his crib after nap
Continue ReadingRecently, I had the pleasure to make acquaintance again with an old friend. I was quickly reminded why I was so drawn to this person in the first place. Before my friend could even get a word out I unraveled a tapestry of excuses for my absence of late. I
Continue Reading"Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift." Matthew 5:24 KJV This past summer in France my family and I happened upon a beautiful hiking trail through vineyards, olive groves and fields of poppies called La
Continue ReadingI am mountain, I am dust. Constellations made of us. There's mystery in the dirt. Momentary carbon stories from the ashes filled with the holy ghost. Life is here now. Breathe it all in. Let it all go. (Lyrics from I Am Mountain by Gungor) A couple of weeks ago I participated in an
Continue Reading"It's much more radical, much more daring, and much more dangerous to hope." -Mary Karr I walk into a book store, pick up a book and the first question I ask, "Is their redemption in this story?" I'm not looking for soft, sentimental, or even a "Hollywood" ending. My intellect demands the
Continue ReadingArchimedes of Syracuse was a genius Greek mathematician, scientist and inventor, with many famous achievements known to us today. A pioneer of modern calculus and geometry, he created the lever, screw pump and compound pulley. One day Archimedes was enjoying his bath when one of his great epiphanies occurred. So
Continue Reading"We are made for transcendence and endless horizons." -Richard Rohr Many Sundays after lunch you might spy my four older children racing each other on their bikes around the paved circumference of Radnor Lake. In their dust, you will also see Percy, my four-year old, trying his very best to keep
Continue ReadingHere we are standing on the precipice of a new year, and I feel myself holding back. The changing of the guards, one year to the next, conjures both feelings of anticipation and anxiety. Quickly, I can stir up alot of dust ruminating over all the what if's and unknown
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This week I was invited to retell the Christmas story to a classroom of four and five-year olds. I brought with me my hand-painted wooden nativity set by an artist in South Carolina, a treasured gift from my Aunt Jennifer. The Christmas story is rich with lead parts from the
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