Cherry Blossom Last fall I posted several “six word stories” while traveling on vacation. I thought it would be nice to offer a few more in the final days of Lent and opening days of spring. I’ve learned a little…
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Ash Wednesday
Music for the Journey from Fat Tuesday to Ash Wednesday On Mardi Gras I spent the day at the house of the Sisters of Charity in Leavenworth, Kansas. I was leading a retreat with a lovely group of new Presbyterian…
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Psalm 139 on a Wednesday night When I speak to children I speak in a voice that gathers them in Even while they tumble across the carpet Like puppies with clothes They whine and yip and yelp occasionally But when…
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Choosing and Praying a Breath Prayer Praying a breath prayer is just what it sounds like. To pray as you follow your breath – using words – connects the body to the sacred. And praying a breath prayer can open…
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Breathing a Prayer Let everything that has breath praise the Creator. When we lived in Georgia parishioners there introduced us to the amaryllis. Every year a pot with a gigantic bulb would appear on my desk during Advent. By the…
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Contemplating Lent Lent. A season of preparation. And repentance. Preparation, I can get with. Repentance, that’s harder to face. Preparing is one of those things I can do. Maybe even when I can’t do the thing itself. Family lore says…
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Wisdom and Folly “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding.” Psalm 111:10 January has been a full month for me. It has held more travel than usual, intensive…
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Embodied Knowing vs. Rational Calculation Tonight I saw the latest Sherlock Holmes movie starring Robert Downey Jr. as Holmes and Jude Law as the good Dr. Watson. When the sequel, “A Game of Shadows” was announced, I was reminded of an early…
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Imagination This month I am working on an article with my partner in research in the Learning Pastoral Imagination Project. Chris Scharen and I are writing about pastoral imagination itself. And as a part of that we are reviewing literature…
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A New Day Dawning What’s that sound? The stirring wind of a new day. As the sun rose this morning over Lake Michigan, a new day in Baptist scholarship also dawned. It was not simply the panel presentation at the…
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Windy City The next few weeks hold lots of travel. Next stop: Chicago for the American Society of Church History annual meeting. It will be my first time to attend that gathering. I’ll tweet some impressions and anything notable I…
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Looking Back and Looking Ahead Another year of blogging. This post #200 since I began blogging two years ago (Advent 2009). A few changes are underway. I’m working on the site to make it a bit more visually appealing. I’ve…
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