The Lord will happiness divine On contrite hearts bestow; Then tell me, gracious God, is mine A contrite heart or no? I hear, but seem to hear in vain, Insensible as steel; If aught is felt, ‘tis only pain, To find I cannot feel. I sometimes think myself inclined To love Thee if I could; […]
One of the biggest surprises in this research was learning that fitting in and belonging are not the same thing. In fact, fitting in is one of the greatest barriers to belonging. Fitting in is about assessing a situation and becoming who you need to be in order to be accepted. Belonging, on the other […]
Our speculations about Shakespeare are almost as multifarious and foolish as our speculations about the maker of the universe[…]. The itch for personally knowing authors torments most of us; we feel that if we could somehow get at the man himself, we should obtain more help and satisfaction from him than from his chosen self-revelation. […]
I’m reading The Answer to How is Yes, by Peter Block. It’s been on my “pick it up” list for a handful of years now, so when my fingertips brushed it while shelving, I did so. It’s good stuff. The section heading I just passed is “Committment without Barter.” I’m going to skip over my […]
Today, evidently, was about being face-to-face. Listening, and sharing… and if I’m lucky, in equal parts. Hasta mañana!
With apologies to Flannery O’Connor So it’s almost 9pm on Sunday. If today was Sabbath I batted about 65%, I just tried to store a folding chair in a table-leaf box, and since I didn’t write BEFORE Sabbath (the preferred approach) my writing remains to be done before I can crash go to bed. Rather […]
David asked the men standing near him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” They repeated to him what they had been saying [about Saul’s promise of reward] and told […]
There’s a pastime among partnered women, where we vent steam and recalibrate by recounting exasperating things our partner has done. Usually “lately,” though some are fond of bringing the whole kitchen sink in if the contents fit the theme du jour. It is, for the most part, a harmless or even useful practice. One retelling […]
I know if I find you I will have to leave the earth and go on out over the sea marshes and the brant in bays and over the hills of tall hickory and over the crater lakes and canyons and on up through the spheres of diminishing air past the blackset noctilucent clouds where […]
Yesterday turned into another sabbath as I decompressed from Glen. You likely figured that out, though! Which means today you get to meet Dennis. So yes, this is a rosary, and no, as a Presbyterian I don’t use one in my religious observances. On our off-day last week, my workshop instructor and her husband went […]
