Category: Wednesday’s Wisdom

Happy Wednesday TSJ Friends, Have you ever had an ah-ha or “light bulb” moment that you still remember clearly? Psychologists and spiritual leaders often call them “felt experiences.” They include and transcend intellectual reasoning. On February 2nd I had such a moment. It was a soul searing ah-ha moment. It all started when I happened across a blog posted in an online magazine I subscribe to. It was written to help writers deal with discouragement and self-criticism. The title gave a hint of what was to come. “Write what only you can write!” I read every word.  “Be unapologetically you!”

Dear TSJ Friends, As a child did you ever receive a gift from “Santa” that you asked for but your image of it was a better model than what “Santa” could afford that year? Do you remember the conflict when you reluctantly said, “Thank you” that had a “but” lingering unspoken in the air? Or as a parent, have you felt deep sadness you could not give exactly what you knew your child wanted?   Tom’s Story . . . As I remember hearing and now reflect on its significance for us . . . When Mr. Tom of TSJ

Hello to all TSJ Friends! Have you ever stumbled and fallen and could not get back up?   This question is good to ponder for a moment and it can apply to a physical fall, a business failure, an embarrassing event, a time of wayward behavior from your own integrity or faith or simply a misjudgment etc.  If so, how have you imagined people would respond if they knew about it?  How would you assume the Good Shepherd would respond? As I have mentioned in recent blog letters, one beautiful thing that is happening to me during this pandemic is being able

Dear TSJ Friends, Happy Thanksgiving! In many ways fall is my favorite season of the year. Skies become intensely blue on sunny days. Shadows lengthen giving depth to the scenery. The trees are colorful in their preparation for winter. The flowers in our gardens often are at their brightest.   Apple trees offer up health food for our winter. Even as the days start to become bleak we have something to look forward to. Holidays!  We enter the season of celebrations. And my favorite holiday is Thanksgiving!  Many of you feel the same way. Thanksgiving is a holiday that unites all

Dear TSJ friends, Last night in the night I found myself wide awake for a couple of hours. Have you ever done that? Nothing in particular was wrong, but I was suddenly thinking about all the things I have not done on my to-do list and the ways I have failed and oh my goodness my “what if” list of worries grew quickly. In short, I worried about the world. Eventually I came back to something precious. A recent experience that I want to share with you today. I remembered about the gift of wonder and asked myself how can

Dear TSJ Friends, Have you had trouble getting traction for your goals and dreams since our pandemic started? Have you noticed that just when you start to feel positive or hopeful again something unwanted happens and you loose your footing causing hope and happiness to slip out from under your feet? Sometimes falling flat on your face (figuratively speaking)? Do you find yourself clinging to what used to work but feel frustrated that it no longer does? Has anything challenged you so much that you have been forced to let go of what you thought you knew and shelve your

Dear TSJ Friends, I started writing to you this morning and ran into an overwhelming sense that I had a longing for something I could not readily identify at first. Something like being hungry but not sure what you are hungry for, But as I sat here in the office and listened, the muse spoke. Solomon  seemed to think I need some time for reflection and renewal. He was so right. So I spent two hours in quiet reflection and prayer. It was honestly like drinking a tall glass of water on a very hot day. So the day unfolded

Dear TSJ Friends, Do you have memories of favorite people in your childhood who simply were special because they were there for you when you needed them (even if you didn’t realize it at the time)?  This is a just for fun memoir story.  So grab your cup of tea! In the midst of all of the serious news our brains filter each day, it seems like a good time to reflect back on positive memories of our personally special people who have positively shaped our hearts and minds and futures. Though names and titles are different in your lives than

Dear TSJ Friends, It is Wednesday – time for us to sit back and spend a few moments together!  It gives me warm feelings to think of you and ponder your notes and think about your lives. Mr. Wisdom Muse, Solomon, likes Wednesdays. Together we decided to keep things pretty upbeat with a bit of review of simple strategies to help in tough times. If there is one thing we know right now it is that we don’t know what the future will bring!  We have always known this of course.  But now we know it experientially from almost any