Forward Day By Day – August 9, 2020

Sunday, August 9, 2020

We don’t get to choose our family of origin. We don’t get to choose emotionally mature parents or a healthy household or siblings. We grow into our circumstances and we grow out of them. They are part of our story.Joseph’s family relationships are comp….(View...

Forward Day By Day – August 8, 2020

Saturday, August 8, 2020

Repetition can have a powerful effect. As hearts beat and lungs breathe, so can words repeated animate our lives.Sanskrit mantras are used in meditation. This is why sacred words are often used in centering prayer. This is why self-help books prescribe daily...

Forward Day By Day – August 7, 2020

Friday, August 7, 2020

I can easily behave like Mary, concerning myself with others’ affairs. I nearly lost myself in caregiving. My concern for others gave me tunnel vision, and I stopped tending to my own needs. I became irritable and unreasonable without knowing it. My relationships...

Coins for Christ Raised Joy and $2,207 for UTO

Thursday, August 6, 2020

by the Rev. Ashley Freeman, St. Patrick’s, Zachary Long ago, in the distant past of Advent 2019 and early 2020, before the world faced the COVID19 pandemic, four of the parishes in the Diocese of Louisiana decided to have a friendly competition. St. Augustine’s,...

Forward Day By Day – August 6, 2020

Thursday, August 6, 2020

From the Archives: April 27, 1950Life will come and with it will come our Lord. We shall likely not recognize him. But he finds us at our work and, not obstinate but ready to take a hint, he will give us success.We Christians a….(View this reading and more...

Forward Day By Day – August 5, 2020

Wednesday, August 5, 2020

We’re in the midst of difficult political times. Issues, personalities, and positions create fissures in relationships and communities. This environment can feel unmanageable.Twelve Step recovery programs offer insights in navigating these perils. Participants admit...

Forward Day By Day – August 4, 2020

Tuesday, August 4, 2020

A child went to school.In science, she studied the scientific method. She was intrigued. In math, formulas developed her desire for balance. History classes taught her to think critically about information sources and consider motivations. Ideas about...

Forward Day By Day – August 3, 2020

Monday, August 3, 2020

The first time I asked God for a sign I was a child. I received an answer and found comfort.I don’t remember asking for more signs until years later, and then I asked for enough signs to make up for lost time. I asked for so many signs I perfected the art...

Forward Day By Day – August 2, 2020

Sunday, August 2, 2020

Oh Jesus, John the Baptist was beheaded. John—kin by blood and soul. Learning how his death came to be is enough to make you sick. You need to be alone. You know it immediately. You withdraw.The people keep coming. You’ve lived and breathed this ministry….(View...

Forward Day By Day – August 1, 2020

Saturday, August 1, 2020

Today’s reading from Judges is difficult for me to stomach. Jael assassinates Sisera in what may be the most gruesome act depicted in the Bible, and Deborah and Barak are singing her praises. The scene makes me uncomfortable. I want peace, love, and joy—not combative...