Spirituality In Everyday Life

Norris Burkes

As a military and hospital chaplain, I routinely observe the stories of faith in the everyday lives of real people. My site tells those faith stories in a humorous, hope-filled, and honest way. I believe you will find them inspiring and potentially life-changing. Most of all, I believe the insight within these stories will connect with your story in a meaningful way. Enjoy!

Thriving Beyond Surviving

A black and white arrow pointing to the left. As a hospital and military Chaplain Norris Burkes has seen things he must never tell. Yet as a syndicated columnist in 38 secular newspapers around the country, he has found ways to share shades of the sacred with his readers.

This book compiles ten years of newspaper columns that takes you into the military battlefield as well as the trauma rooms of major hospitals.

-Get The Book!

Recent Columns From Norris Burkes

Oct 11, 2024

  By Norris Burkes October 13 2024 Earlier this month, I celebrated my 67th birthday with a couple of pieces of German chocolate cake. Fortunately, experience told me not to go for a third. That’s because I still remember my seventh birthday when I sneaked a half-dozen cupcakes from my mom’s cake carrier, devoured them […]

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Oct 04, 2024

By Norris Burkes Oct 6, 2024 Last Sunday, I admitted to my Nevada City congregation that I sometimes, feel like the man who had had enough with life’s difficulties, so he went to live in a monastery. The abbot restricted the man’s spoken words to only two words every year. After his first year, he […]

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Sep 27, 2024

By Norris Burkes Sept 29 2024 For the past 23 years, I’ve written this syndicated column about my adventures, misadventures and philanthropic ventures. During that time, you’ve responded to my commentary with hundreds of emails. Since I’ve not always answered those emails, I’m taking a moment today to give a summarized response to several concerns. […]

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Sep 20, 2024

By Norris Burkes Sept 22, 2024 During the two years I was stationed in Izmir, Turkey, I made several visits to the nearby ancient ruins in the seaport of Ephesus. In the Christian world, this city is famous for the letter the Apostle Paul wrote to the fledgling church. However, in all the years I’ve […]

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