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Hard choices
We live on the horns of a dilemma. On one hand is the opportunity and responsibility to cultivate the best of the past and continue to harvest its rich blessings. On the other hand is the opportunity and responsibility of God’s invitation through the prophet Isaiah, “Do not remember the former things, or consider the Continue reading
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364 and counting
When Anne Lamott was nervous about getting on a plane for the long flight to Africa, obsessing about all the ways she could die, she received some advice from her pastor. “Annie, when you get on a plane, it’s a little late for beggy prayers. It’s time for trust and surrender.” This far into life Continue reading
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Good news bad news. Oh, wait.
Today Anne Lamott reminded me of an old, probably ancient, story that’s relevant again, one I’ve heard several times before and you probably have, too. In the story, a farmer wakes to find that a herd of wild horses has broken down the fences surrounding his acreage. Much repair work lies ahead for the farmer Continue reading
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Like sparkles on the sunlit sea
Today we’re celebrating the Feast of All Saints. Frederick Buechner defined a saint as a handkerchief God occasionally drops in a holy flirtation with the world. I like that: saints as people whose way of living here entices others into a more conscious, intentional, and life-giving relationship with God. But I like the definition of Continue reading
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On standing watch in the storm
Winter’s coming. There, I’ve said it, what everyone knows and few want to acknowledge. Its prelude is October’s riot of color, followed by November’s revealing austerity exposing the contours of the earth that are hidden beneath summer’s rich foliage. Then winter. Winter comes to everyone at one time or another, not the season on the Continue reading
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Charlie Kirk’s memorial was a warning
On October 2, in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s memorial service, two of my colleagues in ministry, the Rev. Dr. Caleb Lines and the Rev. Dr. Mark Sandlin, published the following editorial condemning both political assassinations and declarations of holy war. By sharing it with you here, I am endorsing what they wrote and the Continue reading
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On listening to the earth
It may be one of the most recognizable lines in American literature. At least it is for me. “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to Continue reading
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Avaunt!
Stepping back for a few days from my normal routine with its occupations and preoccupations left me unguarded and vulnerable. Plenty of distractions lay waiting to fill the void, including Ozzie (i.e., Ozymandias, from Shelley’s poem of the same name, [aka Trump]), and in they rushed. Abetted by a growing number of history lessons illuminating Continue reading
The Sauntering Pilgrim 