Monthly Archives: May 2020

How It All Came to Be…Blog Happy!

Dear Reader: As the tenth anniversary of the creation of my blog (Chapelofhopestories.com) grows closer …August 7 , 2010 (to be exact) memories are starting to crack open the flood gate of yesterdays. It is hard to believe that it … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

How Did You Use Your Time?

Dear Reader: Have you considered (when all is said and done…and all the slogans about staying home have disappeared from the media and our culture with the final disappearance of the coronavirus)…what you will say was your greatest accomplishment during … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

If Looking for Your True “Self”…Show Gratitude First

Dear Reader: In the title painting above…an artist has imagined what a global village would look like in a parallel life. I could get lost (and did for several minutes) looking at all the continents in this whimsical world. Jo … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Life is About Questions, Not Answers

  Dear Reader: The German poet Rainer Maria Rilke urges us to “Be patient toward all that is unsolved in our heart and try to love the questions themselves. ” In other words we should learn to “live our questions.” … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments

Finding our Personal “Hallowed Ground”

Dear Reader: Mike and Honey Burrell had a local artist, Carolyn Demotest Serrano, do this beautiful art work (pen and ink drawing) for my birthday in September 2010, following my first visit to St. Jude’s Chapel of Hope in Trust, … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

When Everyday Life Becomes Our Prayer

Dear Reader: It has taken me a lifetime to finally get it! When we fully realize that self and Spirit are the same …just like what I sang at camps and youth retreats growing up…”We are one in the Spirit, … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Memorial Day…Moments of Reflections … Beginnings, Endings, and Family

Dear Reader: It is Memorial Day…just saying the two words conjures up different images and feelings for everyone. My brother Ben (Vietnam Marine- two purple hearts) said that this would be a tough weekend for him…too many images assault him … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Blending into Our Surroundings…

Dear Reader: I remember as a child loving to watch the nature programs on how animals blend in or camouflage themselves for protection from predators. Then there would be all kinds of cool examples like: moths, squirrels, sea creatures, flying … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

A Caring Act of Kindness…

  Dear Reader: Receiving a note (like this one above in the title photo) makes anyone’s day brighter. We can all go on a world-wide hunt for hidden treasures of gold …but if I opened up a treasure chest and … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Being Grateful for What We Have and What We Can Give!

Dear Reader: “Big Red” (the geranium) decided it wanted to join in the Red Nose Day fun too. All the earlier blooms had fallen off the plant and new ones were already forming…but yesterday one bud popped open just in … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment