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There is sometimes a perception that because I have been a pastor for the past 20 years and have been counseling at least as long, that I have my whole life together.

But honestly, that’s not always the case.

I struggle with many of the same things that you do, and that’s one of the reasons I write Alice at Dawn. So that we can tackle those questions together.

Search by a topic or idea.

Featured: To set the whole thing trembling ...

I love me some Freddy Buechner, a Presbyterian pastor with a knack for turning a phrase. The smallest acts of kindness, even circumscribed within our own families, can, as Buechner says, "set the whole thing trembling." Kindness can change the world. Listen to how Buechner puts it: "Humanity is like an enormous spider web, so […]

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And now, we rest ...

And now, we rest. Leftovers tucked away in the fridge. Kitchen tidied a bit. Perhaps we have bid a fond farewell to our guests. And unless we are building up for a raucous New Year's Eve, we can simply rest. But in order to do so, we must fight the messages that resound both inside […]

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Mimosas for the win!!

I wrote this in the early morning hours of Christmas 2022. I hate to admit it, but I had quite a meltdown the night before and I had to remind my very own self what Christmas is about. Enjoy … I woke up thinking about the quote from the Chronicles of Narnia where Mr. Tumnus […]

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Our aching souls ...

"We are infinite souls inside finite lives and that alone should be enough to explain our incessant and insatiable aching." (Ronald Rolheiser) This is why I - and many of you - have a proclivity toward melancholy. This is the sadness that lives deep down in our souls; that we feel in our bellies. This […]

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The earth waits ...

"But the present world is also designed for something which has not yet happened. It is like a violin waiting to be played: beautiful to look at, graceful to hold - and yet if you'd never heard one in the hands of a musician, you wouldn't believe the new dimensions of beauty yet to be […]

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The urgency of God's love ...

To say this is a fast-paced time of year is an understatement, right? Concerts, parties, decorations to be strung, stockings to be hung, people to feed, gifts to buy and wrap and give … and sometimes return. It is too easy to lose oneself in the hustle and bustle. Too easy to think the hustle […]

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Comfort ye, my people ...

We have a great version of Handel's Messiah we love to listen to during the Advent and Christmas season. The louder, the better, to be honest. The very first words sung are these: “Comfort ye… comfort ye, my people …” These haunting words are from the prophet Isaiah, chapter 40, where the great prophet writes: […]

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alice at dawn alice shirey blog
Welcome to Alice at Dawn. My short posts are meant to be regular reminders to keep walking, to keep living, to continue to listen to the voice deep within your spirit that whispers ... this is the way. Walk in it.

Please join us, and invite others ... You are very, very welcome here.

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