Compassion is not quantitative. Certainly it is true that behind every human being who cries out for help there many be a million or more equally entitled to attention. But this is the poorest of all reasons for not helping the person whose cries you hear. Where, then, does one begin or stop? How to choose? How to determine which one of a million sounds surrounding you is more deserving than the rest? Do not concern yourself in such speculations. You will never know.

Often times my writing has been an outlet for my fears, frustrations and discontent. It has allowed me to sort through the confusion of my life and the many demands/detours that seem to get in the way of dreams. Books, music, poetry, art and movies often express the human condition of brokenness. Our brokenness belongs to us--it is as unique as our fingerprints. Poverty, addictions, homelessness, orphaned children etc. are visual reminders of suffering, but the pain of a b

Over a cup of coffee my friend Katherine and I had the joy of meeting up with a man named Ron Dart, who is a professor at the University of the Fraser Valley (department of philosophy, politics and religious studies). He spoke to us about how character is forged during the hard times of suffering--the dark night of the soul moments when it feels like God has abandoned his children all together. He brought a fresh perspective to the purpose of pain and how we cannot "saniti

Frederick Buechner http://www.facebook.com/Frederick.Buechner.Center Everybody prays whether he thinks of it as praying or not. The odd silence you fall into when something very beautiful is happening or something very good or very bad. The ah-h-h-h! that sometimes floats up out of you as out of a Fourth of July crowd when a sky-rocket bursts over the water. The stammer of pain at somebody else's pain. The stammer of joy at somebody else's joy. Whatever words or sounds you us

I so appreciate all of my friends and the support they have given me over the years. When the storms rushed in and the darkness camped around me, I felt the love enter in and the goodness bring life to my dried up spirit. I wanted to pray a blessing for all of you, a word of encouragement from heaven. Soak in it knowing how treasured you are!! Lord, you are my friend's strength and their song. Whenever life gets hard for them, take them into your strong tower of refuge wh