Barbara’s Purpose and Journey
Dec 2009 Connections. Religious beliefs that provide feelings of serenity, security, and comfort often lead believers to mistreat other people, so shouldn’t be encouraged. Read/download 12-2009 Connections >
Aug 2008 Connections. The church’s increasing failure to make needed changes discourages Barbara and makes her wonder whether to continue Connections. Read/download 8-2008 Connections >
Mar 2006 Connections. It took me a long time to catch onto some facts that many other people discovered much earlier in life, and some of those came as a big shock when I finally caught on. One was that… Continue reading →
Oct 2004 Connections. I pray, but apparently not in the ways many other Christians pray. I think a lot about prayer but rarely write or talk about it. My silence is partly because a lot about prayer baffles me.… Continue reading →
Oct 2002 Connections. This issue finishes ten years of Connections. My basic concerns about the church haven’t changed during those years, but on some subjects my awareness has expanded and my feelings have intensified. Read/download 10-2002 Connections
Aug 2002 Connections. After hearing me speak recently about books that had furnished food for my spiritual journey, a Connections reader asked me for a list of the books that had been most important to me. I thought I could… Continue reading →
June 2001 Connections. “What led you to start writing Connections?” readers often ask. “Why don’t you charge everyone for it? Does the money you get for it cover the cost?” “Doesn’t the reading you do for it take a… Continue reading →
May 2001 Connections. “A worldview,” says theologian Walter Wink in The Powers That Be,* “provides a picture of the nature of things.” It covers such subjects as “where is heaven, where is earth, what is visible and invisible, what… Continue reading →
Jan 2001 Connections. “The art of travel is the art of seeing what is sacred.” That’s what Phil Cousineau claims in his intriguing book The Art of Pilgrimage: The Seeker’s Guide to Making Travel Sacred (Conari Press, 1998). Cousineau… Continue reading →
Nov 2000 Connections.
I’ve lived in very few places, but all my life I’ve traveled a lot. Some of my earliest memories are of my father poring over maps, planning our next summer vacation trip. He thought about it… Continue reading →
Aug 2000 Connections. In sharing our spiritual family trees, members of my Sunday School class became closer to each other and more aware of how our faith has grown.* We learned some things about how faith matures. We became… Continue reading →
July 2000 Connections. “Sharing our spiritual family trees is one of the best things we’ve ever done,” says a member of my Sunday School class. “I understand a lot more now, about who I’m with and why we each… Continue reading →
Nov 1999 Connections. Hearing scriptures read that were favorites of the deceased at some recent funerals made me think about what my favorite scriptures were. Read/download 11-1999 Connections
Nov 1998 Connections. A birthday that I dread is coming next month. I’ll reach the traditional retirement age—Social Security age—and the closer that birthday gets, the more ominous it seems. It feels like being put on the down escalator… Continue reading →