It’s the day after Christmas! On this day, the British celebrate Boxing Day, the Amish celebrate Second Christmas, and the rest of us sort of sit here in a post-holiday daze, looking around at the dirty dishes, the wadded up wrapping paper, the leftover food, and we say, “What just happened?”   Unfortunately, this year I know many of you are sitting in a dark house, still having no power since the widespread outages that occurred a few days ago. I know it must be frustrating

Christmas, more than anything else for me, is an invitation into the AWE of God’s Love, Life, Peace, and Joy. I believe we all could use more AWE in our lives – to remind us that miracles happen  whenever we open our hearts. In Unity, we understand miracles, NOT as inexplicable Divine Interventions  – but rather as a shift in human perception or perspective that allows us to SEE the transforming power of LOVE that is active in every moment of our lives.    The following are e

We are now well into the holiday season, and things may be starting to feel a little bit hectic and stressful. I saw a meme on Facebook this week that addressed this issue and I wanted to share it with all of you. It said:   Remember this season, it’s okay if:  Your dishes don’t match  Your tree/house aren’t elaborately decorated  You don’t have a big, fancy gathering  Your idea of festive is more of the “all is calm, all is bright” variety  You opt for small, thoughtful, and

You’re never too old for Santa….   This afternoon, the Vargas Family will be heading out to the Pacific Grove Parade of Lights. I think I have taken Alexander to this parade every year of his life except, perhaps, during the pandemic, and we may have missed one other year due to rain. The Parade of Lights is our family’s official kick-off to the holiday season. We Jelinches love a parade. And it turns out that Paco loves parades too. We love the fancy cars, the floats, the da

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!   I hope everyone is having, or has had, a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with your friends and family. The Vargas Family is celebrating with our dear friends the Franks in Capitola. It is always a good time at the Franks’ house as they have quite an international group of friends. The Franks themselves are a mixed marriage of a South African and a Swede, and their friends group contains other Swedes and South Africans, as well as a couple of Mexi

Last Sunday night, Michelle texted me with some news she saw on FaceBook. (Now that I don’t have FB on my phone, I miss some things… though I still don’t regret removing it from my phone).   My first minister, Phil Pierson, passed away on Sunday. He was actually one of my two first ministers . His wife, Dorothy Pierson, who I mention from time to time, passed away in 2013 at the age of 97. Phil was 98 when he passed. I didn’t want to say this was “sad” news, because they both

As noted above, coming into our Thanksgiving Celebration, we will begin a two-part series this Sunday on Deepening Our Gratitude Practice.  It is often a challenge to come up with a new twist on Gratitude – but I believe you will be inspired, as I have been, by the two Gratitude Practices that these lessons will illuminate. I look forward to exploring them with you over the next two weeks – culminating with our Thanksgiving Communion Service and PotLuck Luncheon on November 2

It’s great to be back – especially to meet my newest grandchild, Charlotte Victoria Elder (Charli). And I had a wonderful time in Cincinnati (as usual), even as I realized that this would be my last Halloween trip where my oldest grandchild, Mateo, would be living at home when I visit (he graduates high school in May and will be living in the dorms at the University of Cincinnati next fall). The dichotomy of Mateo becoming an adult before my eyes – just as Charli enters the w

Day of the Dead for Pets? Every year the celebration of Day of the Dead seems to just get bigger and bigger. Once practiced mostly among the indigenous populations in Mexico, Day of the Dead is now a huge holiday all over Mexico, the United States, and even some Central American countries. I call it the “Coco Effect.” Ever since Coco, the Disney movie that beautifully depicts this fascinating tradition, came out in 2017, Day of the Dead has simply exploded. And in a strange t

As we approach the end of October, the veil between the spirit world and the material world becomes thinner. At least, this is the belief of those who celebrate Día de los Muertos . You may find that you are reflecting more at this time on your own loved ones who have passed. I know I have been thinking a lot about my beloved Grandma, my kitties Molly and Zoe, and my Uncle Jim.   Loss and grief are human conditions that affect all of us at one point or another in life. Grief