Dr. Howell’s Daily Reflections
Everyday, Dr. Howell writes a reflection, a spiritual practice, an inquiry prompt, and a prayer.
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The Fire Within Part 7
We love having dinner by candlelight, and I love it when Lark burns scented candles around the house. In church, I love the candles burning brightly upon the altar. As a boy, I was an acolyte in our church and in every procession, carried the brass candlelighter that carried the flame. We transferred the flame to the large brass candlesticks on the altar. The flame was passed from one place to another, yet nothing was lost.
The Fire Within Part 6
As a child, I was fascinated when my father lit a fire in the barbecue pit in our backyard. My parents used it for cooking out and for burning unwanted boxes, leaves, and rubbish. When my dad burned things, I would sit in amazement watching cardboard boxes and other unwanted materials collapse into ashes within minutes.
The Fire Within Part 5
"Come, Holy Spirit, and kindle in us the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit, and we shall be created, and you shall renew the face of the earth."
The Fire Within Part 4
I was a fledgling lifeguard at the Roswell Family YMCA in Atlanta, Georgia, working my way through graduate school. I was a student—a nobody, really. I had my friends from college and the love of my family, but at twenty-one, I was on my own in a new life— it was time to find myself and stand on my own two feet.
The Fire Within Part 3
The embers of a fire glow steadily, warming and radiating long after the flames have settled. Fire can burst forth like fireworks, dance in flickering light, or glow quietly beneath the surface. Yet fire is not only something we encounter in the physical world, but it also burns within us.
The Fire Within Part 2
A few weeks ago, I visited a dear friend in the hospital, who was very ill and undergoing a battery of tests. Looking at me with tired, sorrowful eyes, he said, “I just don't feel fully alive anymore. I wonder if I am going to die.”
The Fire Within Part 1
The following event really happened to me in 1955. People wearing masks grabbed me, took off my clothes, and dressed me in strange garments. They strapped me down to a rolling bed and wheeled me into a room where blinding lights shone directly into my eyes. Terrified, I screamed and fought to free myself, but I was helpless. I kicked, twisted, and struggled with all my might, yet there was no escape.