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THE GIFT OF ATTENTION

“Attention, Attention, Must Finally Be Paid.” This memorable line from “Death of a Salesman” speaks a truth every bit as important today as it was when Arthur Miller penned those words for Willy Loman’s wife Linda to draw attention to her husband’s needs.   It may, in fact, be more universally true now than it was then. Just think of the ways young and old alike communicate today. From   [Read More …]

When I Am Afraid, I Will Give Fearlessly

By 9:00 a.m. it was already 80+ degrees and we were all drenched with sweat. It was our first day of work on the Jimmy Carter Blitz Build in LA, and there was no doubt it was going to be a hot one. All around me the sound of hammers rang out and saws sliced through the din of many voices as the walls went up. When I turned from the window frame I was blocking to find another 2 x 4, I saw our   [Read More …]

When I Am Afraid, I Will Live Fearlessly

Last week I tried unsuccessfully to write about this topic but the focus wouldn’t come for me. Today is different. I went back to working on this on Martin Luther King Day and his life provided an extraordinary example of what it means to live fearlessly even when you are afraid. On December 10, 1964 King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. It does not go to people who tiptoe their way through   [Read More …]

When I Am Afraid, I Will Pray Fearlessly

The start of New Year’s Day began in an unplanned way for me. I couldn’t find the book I had anticipated reading with my morning coffee so I just picked up the next book in my “Read-This-Next-Pile.” It was Sightings: Extraordinary Encounters with Ordinary Birds. Obviously I expected that book to be about birds but it was far, far more for it was a series of meditations. By the time I had read the   [Read More …]

THE FEAR OF GIVING

This isn’t the column I planned to write. What I had in mind was a simple list of my favorite quotes on giving with a few comments in between. It seemed like a good way to end one year and start another, but it wasn’t to be. I should have known once I started entertaining The Fear of Giving idea that nothing else would work, but I hung onto that plan until I pulled out my quotation file and   [Read More …]

THE PRICELESS GIFT OF TIME

The last two years our daughter’s birthday gift to her dad has been a day of fishing just for the two of them. That gift of time has been an opportunity for them to make memories together. “What is important to me,” our daughter told her dad, “is time to be with you.” If a 26-hour day is on your Christmas wish list, you won’t find that in your stocking or in a beautifully wrapped box under the   [Read More …]

COPING WITH THE GIMMES

Like most residents in our area, we get our mail through a locked box at the post office instead of an unprotected one at the end of our street. A couple years ago I ran into an elderly friend there who was grumbling about the stack of envelopes she had just pulled out of hers. “Nothing here but gimmes,” she said. “Gimmes,” not “Give-Mes” was her name for the dozens of solicitation letters she   [Read More …]

BEYOND THE TURKEY AND THE PUMPKIN PIE

Thanksgiving is a holiday that gives us the opportunity to be our best selves. For some that means stuffing a turkey, baking pies and fixing traditional family dishes to be shared with friends old and new. For others it means volunteering our time and energy to prepare a festive dinner for the hungry in our midst, then sitting at a table with them and sharing stories. While the official holiday   [Read More …]

THE POVERTY OF AFFLUENCE

Frank Butler was on the board of the Ministry of Money (now called the Faith and Money Network) for many years.   On a trip to India he met with Mother Teresa and then shared the following story from that encounter. “My wife Ruth and I were in Calcutta with a Ministry of Money ‘pilgrimage of reverse mission.’ That journey was called a reverse mission as the hope was that the participants’ lives   [Read More …]

FAITH AND MONEY NETWORK – MAKING THE CONNECTION

Part Three of Three - In our last two columns we shared personal stories about making the connection between the way we live out our faith and the way we use our money. Mike Little, our Executive Director talked about the insights he gained assisting a famous workshop leader while several Faith and Money Network board members talked about the introspective journeys that help them find their   [Read More …]