Janice Staab

Think of the 12 people who know you best. They’re not necessarily your best friends. Some may know you well because they’ve been connected to you since you were young. They’ve seen everything from the curious toddler to the awkward teen and the confident adult and, thus, can easily identify the personality traits and core…

When I was young, I was always nervous at the thought of Jesus saying, “You shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).  I had this image of a Divine finger pointing at me, much like the strong, albeit arthritic, fingers of the nuns who taught at my grade school,…

For the past couple of months, we’ve been talking about spiritual stuckness, releasing unhelpful spiritual habits and embracing those that will grow our relationships with God, the world, and each other. Well, nothing like a whack on the noggin from the unpredictable and unwelcome to shake us out of our complacency and into, into what?…

Many years ago, a younger and in some ways braver version of me decided to explore a dream I’d had since childhood. I wanted to learn to ride horses. At first, things went well. I was paired up with Shahara, a stubborn, but sweet mare who knew how to handle a newbie. She simply knew…

What’s the first thing you do when you feel spiritually stuck? Do you think about how it feels to be stuck? Scan your life to see what you’re stuck in? Make a list of alternatives to being spiritually stuck and try to activate one of them? While all of these options may produce some positive…

Have you ever gotten your car so utterly stuck in the mud that there was just no getting it out? The more you revved the engine─ the more you tried to get unstuck─ the deeper the ruts became. No matter how determined you were to get on with your plans, you weren’t going anywhere. When…