Saturday Mornings

To lead people, walk behind them. -- Lao Tzu

I'm wondering ...about how many mechanisms we build and accumulate in our lives that are primarily designed to head-off something else? ...

In the gospels, Jesus is asked 187 questions.  He answers (maybe) 8 of them.  He himself asks 307.  Maybe faith isn't about certainty ,...

Purpose and beauty seem even better when married. Narratives change meaning — it seems like 'conservative' now almost fully means...

The Morning

One of the most valuable gifts in my life was from my mom. She taught us to never look away from pain . The lesson was simple and clear: Don...

There are years that ask questions and years that answer. -- Zora Neale Hurston

I hold this to be the highest task of a bond between two people: that each should stand guard over the solitude of the other. For, if it lie...

There is a depth within you that senses the depth around you.  -- Jason Miller

I've noticed ...that I have a strained relationship with cables — I do my part and they don't do theirs.

Dan Szymborski

One of my criticisms of modern American evangelical Christianity is its preoccupation with self-interest, particularly as opposed to common...

copyright - Katie Rodriguez Unsplash California’s incredible Firefall is back. Every February, thousands of photographers and tourists flo...

Just because you’re used to it, doesn’t make it right. Whataboutism is not a good way to set or reinforce a standard. Your primary point o...

We’ve all heard that we have five senses — sight, smell, hearing, touch, and taste. That idea goes back to the Greek philosopher Aristotle. ...

Love takes off the masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within. -- James Baldwin

Our dog, Fletcher, is 12 — he's not in imminent danger (for those of you who know him), but he is showing his age in a variety of ways. ...

Previous  Nice News ....

' Poem  for the week' -- "Will You?": When, at the end, the children wanted to add glitter to their valentines, I said no....

Ever noticed ...that the people who’ve learned how to deeply take care of themselves are often the most capable of deeply caring for others...

AXIOS "The journey will continue"

If we cannot love our neighbor as ourself, it is because we do not perceive our  neighbor   as ourself. -- Beatrice Bruteau

What is done to others is, ultimately, done to ourselves — the only distinction is timing (what goes around, comes around; you reap what you...

AXIOS It's probably just the 55+ people who are stunned by this....

  Anxiety can become a habit , and mindfulness might be able to help us quit it. Why it matters: Anxiety is the most common mental illness,...

Love makes your soul crawl out from its hiding place. -- Zora Neale Hurston

Do we become our habits? How defined are we by our habits? Habits form. Maybe the question for each of needs to be, which ones do I want ...

Together is better. -- Simon Sinek

I’m wondering …if my hesitation about praying sometimes simply a lack of habit ? Or, is it effectively that I am willing to believe that I...

In many ways, I think part of the explanation for perhaps the powerlessness of much of modern Christianity has been that it has lost touch ...

I believe truth is revolutionary; it’s part of the work of fierce love . Truth makes a personal, spiritual , ethical, and moral demand upon...

A worthy consideration from  Michiana Chronicles : I can still feel the prickle of adrenaline, from a dozen years ago, while sitting in Quak...

In all our searching, the only thing we've found that makes the emptiness bearable is each other . -- Carl Sagan

Regularly scheduled programming interrupted by this Social-Media preview (standard deets to follow, I'm sure!): The most precious-est th...

I know many people who have a lot of money, and they get testimonial dinners and they get hospital wings named after them. But the truth is ...

I've noticed ...that physical  proximity  is important to me.   Something isn't quite complete when I don't choose location, phy...

Instagram:  richvillodas Christians are often bad at making friends with non-Christians because our end goal is not friendship. But Jes...

How we become convinced of something is not as straight-forward as we think . Faith without  doubt  is just belief — though often doubt is ...

AXIOS AXIOS

 ' Poem  for the week' -- "Winter: A Dirge":  (does it not feel this way sometimes?) The wintry west extends his blast,   ...

Your path is at your feet whether you realize it or not. -- Agnes Martin

I have 3 posts unfinished posts started for today.  So, right now, I'm chiding myself with "Hey, how about a little focus here...?!...

Some people try to destroy you, precisely because they recognize your power . -- Bell Hooks

Ever noticed ...the more open you are, the more interesting people you seem to meet?

More snow day pics here .... Most paths lead somewhere; at least somewhere somebody else has traveled (here's a link to path-imagery I...

In spite of the undeniable history of abuses committed in the name of religion , the monotheistic faiths [Judaism, Christianity, and Islam] ...

Despite appearances, politics is not about what you believe or even what is true; it is about narrative ...and the power that wields.  E...

AXIOS

On the Lighter Side :

Risk something or forever sit with your dreams. -- Herb Brooks

My whole life has been preparation for this day. While perhaps a bit laden with overtones of productivity and singularity, there is some tru...

  On the other side of suffering , you trust yourself. -- Jen  Hatmaker ...soak in this one a little — it grows on you as it resonates wi...

Any religion that professes to be concerned about the souls of men is not concerned about the slums that damn them, the economic conditions...

Martin Luther King Jr. defined agape love as willingness to serve without the desire for reciprocation, willingness to suffer without the ...

Part of wisdom is knowing which stories are yours to tell , and which ones are not. We only  pay attention  to  certain  things, which by ...

AXIOS Finish Line I think my word for 2023 would be ‘risk’ — where do I need to take more risks ? What would your word for this year be?

Life is about not knowing, having to change , taking the moment and making the best of it. -- Gilda Radner

A recent walk in the woods affirmed something for me. We are co-existing with things that are living and dying all around us...all the time...

Listening is not simply hearing the words that are spoken. Listening is understanding why the words were spoken.  -- Simon  Sinek

I'm wondering ...about self-contempt — why does it, at times, seem so useful to us?

May God give you the grace never to sell yourself short; Grace to risk something big for something good ; and Grace to remember the world ...