The saints were never meant to remain safely on pedestals. They were imperfect, complicated human beings through whom the grace of God became visible. As we enter a season filled with saints, reformers, martyrs and holy troublemakers, perhaps their stories are asking us one wonderfully uncomfortable question: what might God’s grace look like if it became visible through us?
Tag Archives: Everyday Holiness
The Ordinary Road That Leads to the Saints
As Ordinary Time gives way to our journey toward All Saints, perhaps we discover what these quiet weeks have been teaching us all along: saints are not made somewhere beyond ordinary life. Holiness begins here—in kitchens, conversations, interruptions, acts of mercy, and the next faithful thing God places before us.
God Is Not Waiting for You to Become More Impressive
We often imagine that God is waiting for us to become a more organized, prayerful, patient and generally improved version of ourselves. But Ordinary Time reminds us that God does not work with our improved selves—God works with the people we actually are. As All Saints approaches, perhaps holiness is less about self-improvement and more about surrender: discovering that grace begins not when we become impressive, but when we simply show up.
God Is Probably in the Laundry: The Holiness of Doing It Again
Much of life consists of doing things again: washing the dishes, making breakfast, saying our prayers, offering forgiveness, beginning again. Perhaps holiness is not found only in extraordinary moments, but in the faithful repetition of ordinary ones. As All Saints approaches, we remember that saints were formed through thousands of ordinary mornings offered to God.
The Holiness of Things That Need Doing
What if the ordinary chores, interruptions, errands, and unnoticed acts of kindness that fill our days are not interruptions to the spiritual life, but some of the very places where it happens? Ordinary Time reminds us that holiness is often found not in the spectacular, but in the faithful things that simply need doing.
The Spiritual Importance of Putting the Kettle On
God does not wait for spectacular moments to meet us. Sometimes grace appears beside the kitchen sink, around the table, or in the simple invitation, “Would you like a cup of tea?” In these ordinary days between Thanksgiving and All Saints, perhaps holiness begins by putting the kettle on, finding another mug, and making room for someone else.
The Holy Art of Showing Up: When Faithfulness Looks Remarkably Ordinary
Holiness rarely arrives with trumpets. More often, it looks like showing up, saying our prayers, keeping promises, forgiving, serving, and beginning again. In the quiet days between Thanksgiving and All Saints, Ordinary Time reminds us that God does some of God’s finest work through small acts of faithfulness repeated day after day.
The Holiness of Wednesday: Finding God When Nothing Much Is Happening
Tuesday seldom arrives with trumpets. Yet the ordinary days may be where most of our holiness is actually formed. Between Thanksgiving and All Saints, this reflection explores the quiet grace of everyday life—and why God may be doing considerably more with an ordinary Tuesday than we realize.
God Lives Here Too: The Grace of Ordinary Days
Between Thanksgiving and All Saints lies a stretch of wonderfully ordinary days. No great festival, no dramatic celebration—just the everyday rhythms of work, meals, conversations, kindness, and perhaps a few leaves that need raking again. But what if these ordinary days are precisely where God is waiting to be noticed? Perhaps holiness is closer than we think.
The Theology of the Well-Worn Picnic Blanket
What can an old picnic blanket teach us about the Kingdom of God? Perhaps more than we imagine. As summer begins to wind down, discover how faded fabric, shared meals, and simple hospitality reveal that God’s grace is often found in the ordinary moments where we make room for one another.