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Dr. Tom has been sharing refreshing, insightful essays on his Sunday Morning Cafe blog since 2009. Each Sunday, he brings his extensive experience from resilience research, counseling, and consulting to help you find more connection, meaning, and joy in life. We're so glad you're here to grow with this community!
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Why You Do NOT Have to Marry the Wrong Person
Your choice of spouse is the most important decision you will ever make. Here is a set of procedures, based on common-sense research, to choose a spouse wisely.
Dr. Tom Wagner
3 days ago4 min read
Marriage: A People Growing Machine
What if the limits you keep meeting in your closest relationships are the very engine of your growth? A reflection on marriage, endurance, and human formation.
Dr. Tom Wagner
Jan 256 min read
In Praise of the Good Enough
There is something to be said for the good enough marriage—where flaws, over time, are slowly turned into gifts. This reflection explores commitment, growth, and shared purpose.
Dr. Tom Wagner
Jan 186 min read
A Recipe for Winter-Stark Days (and Nights)
What if nothing in your life—not even sadness or spiritual flatness—stands outside the Sacred? A reflection on winter-stark days and intimacy with the Sacred.
Dr. Tom Wagner
Jan 116 min read
Practicing Presence
Winter has a way of revealing what has been growing underground all along. Read on for a reflection on resilience, presence, and healing through Presence.
Dr. Tom Wagner
Jan 45 min read
This New Year’s Resolution: Procrastinate More
Not everything meaningful can be scheduled or optimized. This reflection considers play as a form of holiness in a world that rarely slows down.
Dr. Tom Wagner
Dec 28, 20255 min read
Emmanuel in the Mirror
In a season marked by dim light, unfinished grief, and unmet expectations, what does it mean to say that the Sacred is still here? Read on for a meditation on Advent, Presence, and the luminous quality that shines in our seemingly ordinary lives.
Dr. Tom Wagner
Dec 21, 20255 min read
Presents in Wrinkled Wrapping Paper
What if the path to intimacy with the Sacred runs straight through the lives of the sick, the frail, and the aging? This reflection explores how love reshapes itself when strength gives way.
Dr. Tom Wagner
Dec 14, 20255 min read
Hip to Be Holy Part Two
You don’t get to choose when fear taps you on the shoulder. But you can choose what steadies you. This piece invites you to consider what might ground you when life shifts.
Dr. Tom Wagner
Dec 7, 20255 min read
A Storied Life
Some memories surface with more weight than others. This week’s reflection explores how to sit with them long enough to discover what they’re trying to say.
Dr. Tom Wagner
Nov 30, 20257 min read
A Thanksgiving Primer
You don’t have to be an iconographer to frame something holy. This article invites you to consider how things like Thanksgiving traditions become the canvases that hold our most enduring stories.
Dr. Tom Wagner
Nov 23, 20255 min read
A Place in Time
We make meaning long before we realize we’re doing it. This reflection invites you to slow down enough to notice the stories forming in you right now.
Dr. Tom Wagner
Nov 16, 20255 min read
How to Intentionally Shape Your Life with Foundational/Formational Stories
What stories are shaping you—quietly guiding your choices, bending your path, even when you don’t notice? Read on to rediscover how your own stories—told and untold—can become sources of strength and grace.
Dr. Tom Wagner
Nov 9, 20256 min read
The Thin Veil Between Life and Death
As the leaves fall and the days grow dim, this is the season poets say the veil between life and death is at its thinnest. This reflection invites you to look closer at our mortality—and discover what gratitude, meaning, and connection can grow there.
Dennis Kempf
Nov 2, 20254 min read
A Muscular Gratitude
In the chaos of life, what happens when you stop long enough to savor? This article explores how small moments of grace can soften even the hardest memories.
Dr. Tom Wagner
Oct 26, 20256 min read
Fire
“Fire” was once a cry for safety. Now, it’s the spark of a calling. This reflection follows the transformation of one woman’s fear into fierce compassion.
Dr. Tom Wagner
Oct 19, 20255 min read
Bending the Universe
What happens when love seems unlikely to prevail in fractured times like these? This reflection offers perspective—and quiet hope—from the past.
Dr. Tom Wagner
Oct 12, 20254 min read
What’s In Your Back Seat?
When anxiety and division crawl into your back seat, how do you keep them from taking over the whole ride? This piece explores one way to set boundaries with what you can’t eliminate.
Dr. Tom Wagner
Oct 5, 20254 min read
I Want to See You Be Brave
It takes courage to stay at the table when conversations get hard. Here are ways to be brave enough to listen, connect, and build bridges where others see walls.
Dr. Tom Wagner
Sep 28, 20256 min read
A Prison Guard Becomes Best Friends with His Inmate
What if your quietest acts of love hold more power to change the world than you realize? This story invites you to see love as your greatest superpower.
Dr. Tom Wagner
Sep 21, 20256 min read
Explore the full archive of Sunday Morning Cafe blogs from 2009 through 2024.
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