Faith & Life Inspirational Message

So often, my spiritual education comes in ways I could not have imagined.  I appreciate the fact that I continue to be spiritually educated.  Part of me worries that I could have long periods of life when no education was happening.  I understand “dry periods,” as we Quakers describe those times when there seems to be no presence or movement of the Spirit.  During these times, I am content to wait, to stay disciplined and be engaged in the process.             My spiritual education is fairly predictable as a happening.  What is unpredictable is the particular kind of education I might receive.  Here variety seems to be the fare of the day.  I am quite content with that.  Who am I always to know what I need to know?  As long as I keep learning, then I will be true to the spirit of the Latin and Greek words for “disciple,” namely a “student” or “learner.”     ...

When some people see this title, they probably assume I am going to talk about some special call to the ministry.   For sure, this is often the language of priests and others who do feel a special call into some form of ministry.   I don’t minimize that, but I have a different kind of call in mind.   I have in mind something as simple as a phone call.            Although people may not talk on the phone as much as a few years ago, there is still a great deal of conversation that goes over the phone waves.   Email and texting have not totally replaced actually hearing a human voice on the other end of the phone call.   As I pondered the matter, I quickly realized not all phone calls are equal.   And I have created a little way to distinguish between two different kinds of phone calls.             In order to distinguish two different kinds, I appeal...