From the category archives:

religion

Person of faith.

February 15, 2010
Thumbnail image for Person of faith.

I read the interview by Unitarian minister Marilyn Sewell of Christopher Hitchens with interest. Hitchens is well-spoken in support of his opinions. Sewell, however, left me with my mouth agape.
That would be agape, as in amazement, not agape, as in love.
Repeatedly, in discussing Christianity with Hitchens (who is an atheist), she could only, at best, [...]

9 comments Read the full article →

Just in time.

January 13, 2010

Today a friend, who is going through something very difficult, sent me an email with an excerpt from the book The Hiding Place, by Corrie Ten Boom. I had commented earlier that I would not have been able to handle the situation my friend was currently in:
“When I was a little girl,” I said, “I [...]

2 comments Read the full article →

Deus ex machina.

January 2, 2010

Faith and hope have me trapped. I keep hoping for an amazing break in my life, hoping for success in at least one of the Big Three areas we humans measure success in.
I know the machine. It’s been running for about 36 years.
The god in it is really grinding the gears. The noise drowns out [...]

0 comments Read the full article →

Christmas letter 2009.

December 21, 2009

::Time for my Christmas letter, a format of communication that I’ve had mixed feelings about in years past. (Read earlier letters here and here.)::
On my bookshelf are three small glass bottles, filled with sand. Sand from the beach in Nicaragua. Sand from a beach in Oregon. Sand from a beach in Florida. Sand from places [...]

2 comments Read the full article →

Are you wise?

December 19, 2009

Three wise men gave a young Jesus gifts. From this, we have managed to extrapolate Black Friday.
I like getting surprises. I like getting a gift. It’s best when you don’t expect it. I received some books in the mail a few days ago, and I’m having a blast reading the cookbook. It made the day [...]

0 comments Read the full article →

I want.

December 16, 2009

I had a 25 percent-off coupon for Barnes and Noble, and so I headed to the bookstore. That, combined with the member discount, is a really decent deal. Imagine my surprise when I arrived at the store and walked around for nearly two hours and realized that I wanted…nothing.
Everything that has happened in my life [...]

2 comments Read the full article →

Average Joe.

December 9, 2009

At Christmas, unless you’re celebrating a solstice or thinking of an obese elf who breaks into people’s homes and eats their food, you’re at some point considering the Nativity story. Most focus on Mary, but my mom recently sent me an email that made me consider Joseph.
“Here are some words of encouragement,” my mom said [...]

5 comments Read the full article →

Value voter.

November 19, 2009

I read a post by Matthew Johnson, and I realized I’d forgotten what to value.
In his post, Johnson notes fellow blogger Steve McCoy’s tweet:
Our van has been keyed again, that’s twice in 7-8 days or so. Someone is obviously mistaken as to what we value.
I wouldn’t react that way, I don’t think.
It’s interesting how our [...]

0 comments Read the full article →

Treat me like I’m blind.

November 2, 2009

Heroes from the west
We don’t know you, we know best
This is not a test
You treat me like I’m blind
– Jars of Clay, “Light Gives Heat“

I don’t think I’m going to go to Nicaragua this year.
I’m feeling nothing. The insights I may have grasped at in all the previous years have left and been replaced by [...]

4 comments Read the full article →

Worthless perfection.

October 28, 2009

::From a journal of mine.::
I foolishly imagine that my perfections give me worth.
But no.
It is my imperfections. I would say to a friend that I love him in spite of his perfections, for he is a perfectionist.
The human version of wrestling down perfection is an ugly thing. What seems perfect in our lives — control, [...]

0 comments Read the full article →

eXTReMe Tracker