What are you reading during Advent this year? What’s your standard practice? Do you read any special Advent book, or follow any sort of blog/newsletter? I haven’t for most of my life; it’s only in the most recent years that I’ve read anything out of the ordinary for Advent. A major part of that is…
Category: Miscellaneous
Friendship
I’ve been thinking over the last few weeks and months about friendship. Often, we don’t realize the impact particular people have on our lives until they no longer fill that role, and I’m not sure how to change that and recognize those influences while they’re still around. How exactly does one measure friendship? We’ve probably…
The Main and Plain Things
John 9:25 “…..One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” I was reading in John recently, and my attention was particularly caught by the phrase above. When this man, blind from birth and healed by Jesus, was asked by the Pharisees how he regained his sight, he focused on the…
The Scribe
The Scribe What lovely thingsThy hand hath made:The smooth-plumed birdIn its emerald shade,The seed of the grass,The speck of stoneWhich the wayfaring antStirs–and hastes on! Though I should sitBy some tarn in thy hills,Using its inkAs the spirit willsTo write of Earth’s wonders,Its live, willed things,Flit would the agesOn soundless wingsEre unto ZMy pen drew…
Pruning
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” (John 15:1-2) A few days ago, I happened to be driving down the road while a township…
15 Books I Won’t Be Reading (Probably)
One of the books I’ve read recently took a trip through history and gave an overview of 15 books that have had a pervasive negative influence on the world. (Perhaps unsurprisingly, it’s titled 10 Books that Screwed Up the World and 5 Others that Didn’t Help, by Benjamin Wiker.) They’re generally what you might expect…
Wagon Tracks of Abundance
Psalm 65:9-13:You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it;the river of God is full of water; you provide their grain, for so you have prepared it.You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges,softening it with showers, and blessing its growth.You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with abundance.The…
A Contrast in Character
My current audiobook keeping my lengthy daily commute from becoming absolutely mind-numbing is a retelling of the Greek myths, Mythos, written and read by Stephen Fry. (Yes, that Stephen Fry.) The book came highly recommended from generally reputable sources, so when it became available through my library app, into my downloads it went. I was…
Happy Birthday and an Update
Happy birthday……to me! Well, sort of. Happy birthday to this blog, anyway. I started this blog 3 years ago – post #1 was published on May 22, 2019, and it’s been a busy 3 years! I am a bit of a data nerd, so here are some brief data points that I found interesting, and…
Scripture Through the Eyes of a Child
I’ve written previously about the practice we’re attempting to set this year, of reading through the New Testament as a family. We’re a third of the way through and settling into good rhythms, and it’s been worth the time and effort. (Hopefully my kids will agree in a few years, possibly decades.) One of my…