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

May 30, 2025

By Norris Burkes, June 1 2025  Sunday, June 1st is national ”Say Something Nice Day.” The day was started in 2003 by fellow columnist, Mitch Carnell and Baptist laymen. Carnell conceived the day as one in which we might intentionally express compliments, appreciation, and encouragement to folks around us. In his book, Say Something Nice: […]

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May 23, 2025

By Norris Burkes May 25 2025 I often felt that if I hadn’t become a chaplain, I’d have become a safety officer. For example, whenever I volunteer with Chispa Project in Honduras, I’m the guy who steadies the ladder, double checks that the lunch produce is washed correctly and then I police the perimeter for […]

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May 16, 2025

By Norris Burkes May 18 2025  Do you ever wonder what people think about you? I do and, most especially, I wonder what my readers think of me.   My speaking events often give me multiple opportunities to discover what my readers think of me.  For instance, last week, I spoke to a Rotary group, where […]

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May 09, 2025

By Norris Burkes May 11 2025 Amidst the Cinco de Mayo celebrations last Monday, I couldn’t avoid thinking of May 6, 2009, the day I returned from deployment in Iraq on a chartered World Airways DC-10. After spending four months serving the wounded at the Air Force Field Hospital in Balad Iraq, my only thoughts […]

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