This month I’m using the image of light in my Sunday Inspirations to introduce my new novel The Color of Light. These words by Albert Schweitzer have long been a favorite of mine. Sometimes our light does goes out, and no one could give a greater gift than to blow it back into flame. In…

Since my new book is coming out this week, I thought you might appreciate quotes about light for my next few Sunday Inspirations. If you read The Color of Light you’ll see that a rose window plays a large part in the story. This quote spoke to me since some of my characters struggle to let light shine from within during dark…

Want a true life Goddesses Anonymous story? Very, very anonymous? From MarloThomas.com. Thirty years ago nine women decided to do their own laundry and use the money they saved from sending it out to help people in need. They paid utility bills for those who couldn’t afford it, they dropped off food for people who…

I see this quote etched in stone in front of a beautiful cottage at least once a day as I walk down the red brick path to the amphitheater for a program or to Bestor Plaza where I can find the library, post office, shops, and dining here at Chautauqua. Only a block from our…

When an old man died in the geriatric ward of a nursing home in an Australian country town, it was believed that he had nothing left of any value. Later, when the nurses were going through his meager possessions, They found this poem. Its quality and content so impressed the staff that copies were made…

We can look for love all over this world of ours, but more often than not love finds us when and where we least expect it. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons that yesterday, the Supreme Court affirmed marriage for everyone. I give thanks for love wherever and whenever it blooms and to everyone who is swept away by its glorious, transforming…

To all the dads out there, as well as the moms who had a lot to do with making them dads, Happy Fathers Day! The Dove folks did it again with this touching video of women telling their dads-to-be that they are pregnant. Have your tissues handy, and be sure to share this with your “dad.”…

One of my favorite children’s books is The Velveteen Rabbit by Marjorie Williams. Remember it? One reason I love it is because it speaks to children and adults alike. I find this conversation between the Skin Horse and the Velveteen Rabbit especially inspiring. “’Real isn’t how you are made,’ said the Skin Horse. ‘It’s a…

Are you leaving a trail for others to follow? Or are you happy to follow where others lead, secure in their choices? This week I’m going to contemplate the difference. Join me?

One of life’s great challenges is how to find your own special gift and then share that gift with others. In a column last week David Brooks wrote about “The Small, Happy Life.”  He asked readers to send essays on what their purpose for living was and how they had discovered it. To Brooks’ surprise, he learned that many people did not have…