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Dr. Tom has been sharing refreshing, insightful essays on his Sunday Morning Café 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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The Beauty That Surrounds Us
What if Beauty is not waiting in some far-off sacred place, but standing in front of you at the checkout lane, behind the coffee bar, or in the people you pass every day? This reflection invites you to notice the people who sanctify the ordinary.
Dr. Tom Wagner
Jul 55 min read
Awe!
Awe can’t be scheduled, but we can cultivate a discipline of noticing beauty. This article is an invitation to slow down, pay attention, take in beauty, and practice wonder.
Dr. Tom Wagner
Jun 286 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
Jun 75 min read
“I Shall Die, but That Is All I Shall Do for Death”: The Sequel
Could years of small surrender prepare you for the hardest letting go? This reflection explores Mary’s story of illness, recovery, contemplative prayer, and the kind of peace that does not arrive by accident.
Dr. Tom Wagner
May 3112 min read
Each and Every Soul Has Some Easter In It, No Exceptions
What if there’s a part of you that already knows how to “keep climbing” when things get hard? This reflection explores the resilience woven into every soul.
Dr. Tom Wagner
Apr 55 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 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
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
Out of Africa
A pilgrimage isn't measured in miles or expensive plane tickets to exotic locations—it’s measured in attention, openness, and the courage to let go. Join a journey through nature, Sacred Presence, and the practice of surrender.
Dr. Tom Wagner
Aug 31, 20257 min read
The Ground Floor: The Very First Sunday Morning Café Event
The Sacred doesn’t start with answers—it starts with awe. From a backyard loss to a community gathering, this reflection kicks off the Sunday Morning Café you’re invited to attend.
Dr. Tom Wagner
Jul 13, 20255 min read
Rendezvous
Maybe the Sacred is already reaching for you, in the spaces only you recognize. Read on for a reflection on unexpected altars, inked stars, and the God who meets us there.
Dr. Tom Wagner
Jun 29, 20255 min read
Growing Second Half of Life Skills…Even If You Happen to Be Living in the First Half
You don’t have to wait for gray hair to grow elder wisdom. This reflection invites you to begin now—wherever you are on the journey.
Dr. Tom Wagner
May 25, 20256 min read
Making Space for Awe
Research is showing that human beings are built for “awe.” Like other spiritual gifts, awe is not a thing you can grasp at. This article explores the ways you can slow down so that awe can graciously catch up with you.
Dr. Tom Wagner
May 18, 20255 min read
Seriously Funny: Uncovering the Sacred Roots of Humor
When a late-night comic and the Pope start saying the same thing, you listen. Read on to discover what their surprising agreement reveals about the connection between resilience and grace.
Dr. Tom Wagner
May 4, 20255 min read
As I Have Done, So You Also Should Do: Remembering Pope Francis (1936-2025)
Honoring the man whose life embodied mercy, humility, and hope.
Dr. Tom Wagner
Apr 27, 20254 min read
Explore the full archive of Sunday Morning Café blogs from 2009 through 2024.
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