Thursday, July 31, 2014

Thursday Thinking - About Song Writing

http://www.npr.org/2008/10/15/94281015/over-the-rainbow-from-kansas-to-oz

"Somewhere Over the Rainbow" from the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz is an amazingly well-written song! Conductor and composer Rob Kapilow explains how the music by Harold Arlen with words by Yip Harburg is so much more than you have probably ever really considered. It's with good reason that the song was named to the list of the greatest songs of the 20th century by National Endowment for the Arts and the Recording Industry Association of America.

CLICK HERE FOR TEN FASCINATING MINUTES OF AUDIO

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Wednesday Words - Neither Far Out Nor Deep


The people along the sand
All turn and look one way.
They turn their back on the land.
They look at the sea all day.

As long as it takes to pass
A ship keeps raising its hull;
The wetter ground like glass
Reflects a standing gull.

The land may vary more;
But wherever the truth may be—
The water comes ashore,
And the people look at the sea.

They cannot look out far.
They cannot look in deep.
But when was that ever a bar
To any watch they keep?

by Robert Frost, from The Poetry of Robert Frost. © 1969 by Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, Inc.

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Tuesday Tome - Following Jesus

I'm currently re-reading Following Jesus: Biblical Reflections on Discipleship by N. T. Wright. It's a wonderful little book of pastoral instruction. Wright is one of those rare academics who is also a gifted pastoral teacher. He is able to take big ideas and challenging texts and serve up something rich and helpful for everyone.

I'm using the first six chapters as the inspiration for my current teaching series at Valley Christian Church. The series is called Looking to Jesus. Each week, with Wright's help, I look at a different New Testament book and try to spotlight the general portrait of Jesus given by that particular book.
The Final Sacrifice: Hebrews
The Battle Won: Colossians
The Kingdom of the Son of Man: Matthew
The Glory of God: John
The Servant King: Mark
The World Reborn: Revelation
The book is only 115 pages long and easy to read. If you're looking for something to encourage you in  following Jesus, I think you'll find this to be a worthwhile book. Reading one chapter a day for a couple weeks would be a good way to take it in.

Monday, July 28, 2014

Monday Music - Things Above




Since you have been raised with Christ,
Set your hearts on things above
Where Christ is seated
At the right hand of God.
Set your mind on things above–
Not on earthly things–
For you died
And your life
Is now hidden with Christ in God.

Set your mind on things above.


"Things Above" by Dave Burkum from "This Is the Testimony," © 2005 by Dave Burkum, lyrics adapted from Colossians 3:1-3. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN OR BUY

Sunday, July 27, 2014

Sunday Supplication - Gracious and Merciful

O Lord, we ask you to give us clean hearts. We ask you to protect and guide us as we strive to be a growing and devoted part of your Church in the world. May your goodness and grace shape us and direct us. Help us to honor you and to follow faithfully in the way of Christ Jesus.

You know our weaknesses, O God, and you understand our limitations.  Our sins and failures are no secret or surprise to you. And yet, Dear Father, you are faithful to forgive, you are ready to renew, you are able to lift us up, and you call us to press forward in Christ. In the same way, help us to forgive and to bless others. Make us gracious and merciful to others.

Thank you, O God, for Jesus, your Son who came to live among us, full of grace and truth. Help us to see him for all he is. Help us to grow in our relationships with him. Help us to follow him wherever he leads.

Through Christ, we pray. Amen.

Friday, July 25, 2014

Friday Favorites - Bluetooth Audio

In recent weeks, I've been enjoying a couple of new audio gadgets. Both are very inexpensive and deliver a lot of bang for the buck.


HMDX Jam Bluetooth Wireless Speaker

Connects Wirelessly to Bluetooth-Enabled DevicesThe speaker can connect wirelessly from up to 30 feet away, and it works with most Bluetooth-enabled Smartphones, tablets, notebooks, and desktops, including iPad, iPhone, and iPod.

Rechargeable Battery and Line-In Capability
The Jam wireless speaker features a rechargeable lithium-ion battery that provides up to four hours of wireless play. The speaker also comes with line-in capability, which allows you to connect your non-Bluetooth-enabled devices directly to the speaker.

Highlights:
    Incredible sound quality from a small package
    Easy wireless connection--works up to 30 feet away
    Works with all Bluetooth-enabled devices: smart phones, tablets, and most notebooks
    Lithium-ion rechargeable battery provides up to 4 hours of wireless play--no need to buy batteries
    Simple on/off switch on the bottom of the unit

Small and Comes in a Variety of Colors
Measuring 2-1/2 inches in diameter by 2-1/2 inches high, the premium Jam wireless speaker delivers incredible sound quality in a small footprint. Even more, it's designed to fit anyone's style--choose from six colors.


Brightech - BrightPlay Live

The BrightPlay Live receiver is an instant upgrade to existing components. Play your music aloud wirelessly from your Bluetooth device to stereos and speakers that do not have Bluetooth built-in.

Advanced feature makes setup a snap. NFC makes pairing and control easy. With devices that support Near Field Communication, pairing is virtually automatic. Just tap your mobile device to the BrightPlay Live recever and start playing music wirelessly!

The receiver conveniently connects to traditional audio components. The included cable has both RCA and 3.5 mm connectors so you can easily connect your Bluetooth audio receiver to speakers etc.

Thursday Thinking - Giving and Happiness

Joel Rogers, a tax accountant in Birmingham, Alabama sent this question to the Freakonomics Radio Podcast:
I’ve read that people who go to religious institutions consistently are happier than their counterparts. The economist inside me says that money (not given to the church) would make a non-tither happier, all things equal. So, will exchanging 10% of your income for the right to participate in a religious congregation statistically increase or decrease your happiness?
CLICK HERE to see how they answered...

Does Religion Make You Happy? 
A New Freakonomics Radio Podcast

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Wednesday Words - Every Land


The holy land is everywhere. —Black Elk

Watch where the branches of the willows bend
See where the waters of the rivers tend
Graves in the rock, cradles in the sand
Every land is the holy land.

Here was the battle to the bitter end
Here's where the enemy killed the friend
Blood on the rock, tears on the sand
Every land is the holy land.

Willow by the water bending in the wind
Bent till it's broken and it cannot stand
Listen to the word the messengers send
Life from the living rock, death in the sand
Every land is the holy land.

"Every Land" by Ursula K. Le Guin, from Finding My Elegy.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012.

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Tuesday Tomes - Life Stories

I started a new book on Sunday afternoon, Life Times: Stories (1952-2007), by Nadine Gordimer. A South African writer, political activist, and Nobel Prize recipient, Gordimer, was born in 1923 in a small-mining town 30 miles from Johannesburg, and grew up in South Africa. She was the daughter of a British mother and a Lithuanian father.

I'm very sorry to say that I had not known of Gordimer or her writing until I heard of her death just two Sundays ago on July 13. The flood of stories and remembrances of her life in the wake of her death were so ubiquitous and interesting, it was baffling to me how I could have never heard of her before. After hearing John Hockenberry's words on The Takeaway, an interview by Terry Gross on Fresh Air, and a remembrance by Scott Simon on Weekend Edition, I knew I had to get a book and start reading.

A collection of her stories seemed like a perfect place to start. In a review of Life Times, Alan Cheuse, who teaches writing at George Mason University said, "This superb collection, almost 600 pages long, gives us a series of masterly drawn glimpses into the story-making art of one of Africa's great modern literary geniuses and gives us an intimate glance into the hearts and souls of dozens and dozens of her fellow strife-torn and struggling fellow Africans of all shades and tribes."


Here is the beginning of Scott Simon's remembrance...
In Writing: Nadine Gordimer Explored Why We're All Here
"I am not a political person by nature," Nadine Gordimer once said. "I don't suppose, if I had lived elsewhere, my writing would have reflected politics."

Gordimer was born in South Africa in the early 1920s, into a society divided and identified by the crime of apartheid. Official racial segregation and suppression was wound into everyday life.

Her mother mostly kept her home from school, so Gordimer began to write for companionship. She published her first short story in The Children's Sunday Express when she was 15 years old, and essentially wrote for a living until her death this week, at the age of 90.

Nadine Gordimer wrote 15 novels, a few of which were banned by the South African government, and when one of her short stories appeared in a British or U.S. magazine that reached South Africa, officials ripped out her pages.

The suppression intended to silence her and millions more only galvanized Nadine Gordimer...
CLICK HERE TO KEEP READING

Monday, July 21, 2014

Monday Music - Better Day




Abel made a sacrifice.
Enoch somehow never died.
Noah built an ark
And left the world outside.
Abraham didn’t have a son,
But by faith he traveled far.
His children now outnumber
The stars.

Take another step,
Breathe a little deeper,
Straighten up and take a stand.
Walk another mile,
You’re headed for a better land.

Isaac blessed and prophesied.
Jacob worshipped, staff in hand.
Joseph spoke of exodus from
Egypt’s land.
Moses chose to be mistreated--
Pharoah’s pleasures he would deny.
The Red Sea parted and the ground the children walked
Was dry.

Take another step,
Breathe a little deeper,
Straighten up and take a stand.
Walk another mile,
You’re headed for a better land.
Think about the joy,
Don’t forget the promise,
Let the Spirit lead the way.
Tomorrow’s gonna come--
It’s gonna be a better day.

Gideon, Barak, and Samson--
There’s not time enough to tell
Tales of Jephthah, King David,
And Samuel.
There were those who closed the mouths of lions;
Those who quenched the fury of the flames.
They suffered this world’s hateful scorn
And shame.

Still they took another step,
Breathed a little deeper;
They weren’t afraid to take a stand.
They walked another mile,
Headed for a better land.
They thought about the joy--
Thought about the promise;
They let the Spirit lead the way.
They gave a little more,
Hopin’ for a better day.

So take another step,
Breathe a little deeper,
Straighten up and take a stand.
Walk another mile,
You’re headed for a better land.
Think about the joy,
Don’t forget the promise,
Let the Spirit lead the way.
Tomorrow’s gonna come--
It’s gonna be a better day.

Words and Music by Dave Burkum from Breathe a Little Deeper. © Copyright 2000 by Dave Burkum. CLICK HERE to Listen or Buy.

Sunday, July 20, 2014

Sunday Supplication - Grace and Guidance

O God, we trust you and we ask for your protection. We are weak, and we need your strength. We struggle with sin, and we need you to make us holy. In your mercy, guide us and rule over us. Help us not lose sight of what is eternal and true.

In our weakness and selfishness, we often fail each other, fail ourselves, and fail you. We recognize our need for forgiveness and we give thanks for the hope and power we have in Christ.  Raise us and transform us by the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead. Forgive us our sins, and make us ready and able and quick to forgive others, even as you forgive us.

We are sinners, O God. Have mercy us. You see our hidden faults and know our secret sins. Thank you for loving us where we are and for giving us the grace and guidance to rise above our weaknesses. Help us to love you with heart, soul, mind, and strength. Grant us integrity that our lives might demonstrate our love and devotion to you.

Through Christ, we pray. Amen.

Saturday, July 19, 2014

Saturday Smile - Brett Domino

This guy is funny! And he's remarkably insightful about the recipe for pop songs.

Friday, July 18, 2014

Friday Favorites - Stillwater Log Jam


The Cactus Blossoms will be playing tomorrow night at the Stillwater Log Jam. Should be a great night of fun and music. The weather is supposed to be perfect!

7:00 to 8 p.m. The Cactus Blossoms
CLICK HERE for the full music schedule.

Thursday, July 17, 2014

Thursday Thinking - Beyond Theoretical Salvation


Too many Christians talk about salvation as an event or a status and  fail to think of salvation as an ongoing process. In the New Testament, salvation is referred to in terms of past, present, and future. We have been saved, we are being saved and we will be saved.

To prompt you to further thought about this this, I'm directing you to a recent post by Greg Boyd on the ReKnew blog. The post is titled: Beyond Theoretical Salvation.
Profession of Christ’s lordship in our lives isn’t a magical formula. It’s more than a theory about how we can get saved if we confess the right doctrines. The confession has meaning only when it’s understood to be a genuine pledge to surrender one’s life to Christ. But I want us to notice something that is as obvious as it is overlooked. Our pledge to surrender our life to Christ isn’t itself the life we pledged to surrender to Christ. The actual life we pledged to surrender is the life we live each and every moment after we make the pledge. For the only life we have to surrender is the life we live moment-by-moment.

Think about it. Our lives are nothing more than a series of moments—a series of “nows”—strung together. To surrender our “life” is to surrender this. But you obviously can’t surrender this all at once. You can only do it one moment at a time.

The pledge of life isn’t the life we pledge. 

CLICK HERE TO KEEP READING...
Profession of Christ’s lordship in our lives isn’t a magical formula. It’s more than a theory about how we can get saved if we confess the right doctrines. The confession has meaning only when it’s understood to be a genuine pledge to surrender one’s life to Christ. (See yesterday’s post.) But I want us to notice something that is as obvious as it is overlooked. Our pledge to surrender our life to Christ isn’t itself the life we pledged to surrender to Christ. The actual life we pledged to surrender is the life we live each and every moment after we make the pledge. For the only life we have to surrender is the life we live moment-by-moment.
Think about it. Our lives are nothing more than a series of moments—a series of “nows”—strung together. To surrender our “life” is to surrender this. But you obviously can’t surrender this all at once. You can only do it one moment at a time.
The pledge of life isn’t the life we pledge.
- See more at: http://reknew.org/2014/07/beyond-theoretical-salvation/?utm_source=feedly&utm_reader=feedly&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=beyond-theoretical-salvation#sthash.fyKs5rdG.dpuf
Profession of Christ’s lordship in our lives isn’t a magical formula. It’s more than a theory about how we can get saved if we confess the right doctrines. The confession has meaning only when it’s understood to be a genuine pledge to surrender one’s life to Christ. (See yesterday’s post.) But I want us to notice something that is as obvious as it is overlooked. Our pledge to surrender our life to Christ isn’t itself the life we pledged to surrender to Christ. The actual life we pledged to surrender is the life we live each and every moment after we make the pledge. For the only life we have to surrender is the life we live moment-by-moment.
Think about it. Our lives are nothing more than a series of moments—a series of “nows”—strung together. To surrender our “life” is to surrender this. But you obviously can’t surrender this all at once. You can only do it one moment at a time.
The pledge of life isn’t the life we pledge.
- See more at: http://reknew.org/2014/07/beyond-theoretical-salvation/?utm_source=feedly&utm_reader=feedly&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=beyond-theoretical-salvation#sthash.fyKs5rdG.dpuf

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Wednesday Words - Honey

http://www.jennortonartstudio.com/artwork/servants-and-celebrations/

Only calmness will reassure
the bees to let you rob their hoard.
Any sweat of fear provokes them.
Approach with confidence, and from
the side, not shading their entrance.
And hush smoke gently from the spout
of the pot of rags, for sparks will
anger them. If you go near bees
every day they will know you.
And never jerk or turn so quick
you excite them. If weeds are trimmed
around the hive they have access
and feel free. When they taste your smoke
they fill themselves with honey and
are laden and lazy as you
lift the lid to let in daylight.
No bee full of sweetness wants to
sting. Resist greed. With the top off
you touch the fat gold frames, each cell
a hex perfect as a snowflake,
a sealed relic of sun and time
and roots of many acres fixed
in crystal-tight arrays, in rows
and lattices of sweeter latin
from scattered prose of meadow, woods.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

"Honey" by Robert Morgan, from A Book of Luminous Things: An International Anthology of Poetry, edited and with an introduction by Czeslaw Milosz, © Copyright 1996 by Czeslaw Milosz.

Also appears in The Strange Attractor: New and Selected Poems by Robert Morgan, © Copyright 2004 by Robert Morgan.


Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Tuesday Tome - The Apostle Islands

We had a nice vacation and enjoyed the coast of Lake Superior from the Apostle Islands all the way down to Duluth and then up the North Shore to Grand Marais. We started in the Apostle Islands and stayed in Siskiwit Bay. The next day we drove up to the sea caves area, but couldn't see much from shore. We did, however, get to enjoy watching a couple teams of sea kayaks launching out to explore the caves on an absolutely gorgeous morning.

So after having lunch in Bayfield, Wisconsin, I stopped into the local bookstore and found a little book of Craig Blacklock photos of the sea caves. Blacklock is renowned for his stunning photos of Lake Superior landscapes and this book, Apostle Islands from Land and Sea, is an example of his expertise. The pictures are so beautiful they convinced me to definitely get a boat ride out to see Devil's Island and the Sea Caves from the water the next time we're up that way.

http://www.amazon.com/Apostle-Islands-Land-Sea-Souvenir/dp/1892472260/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1405345645&sr=1-1&keywords=craig+blacklock

Publisher's Description:
Wisconsin's Apostle Islands are a haven for boaters and tourists, and this photo book will appeal to them. Blacklock's ability as a photographer and kayaker sets this book far apart from any others. He has the skills to create images others would find impossible.



Monday, July 14, 2014

Monday Music - Putting First the Things that Last





I’m putting first the things that last– 
I’m putting first the things that last–
I’m putting first the things that last–
I’m putting first the things that last.


Do not store up treasures on earth
Where rust and moth destroy;
Instead make purses that will not wear out–
For where your treasure is
Your heart will also be.

I’m putting first the things that last–

I’m putting first the things that last–
I’m putting first the things that last–
I’m putting first the things that last.


Don’t be afraid, the Father is pleased
To give you His kingdom.
Sell your possessions and give to the poor--
For where your treasure is
Your heart will also be.

I’m putting first the things that last–
I’m putting first the things that last–
I’m putting first the things that last–
I’m putting first the things that last.


"Putting First the Things that Last" by Dave Burkum from This Is the Testimony, © Copyright 2005 by Dave Burkum. 
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN OR BUY.

Sunday, July 13, 2014

Sunday Supplication - Help Us Persevere

Help us, O Lord, to trust in you with all our hearts.

We humble ourselves before you. We know we cannot rely on our own strength, and we rejoice in your mercy. Thank you for your promise to forgive and purify us. Thank you for being the one who saves.

Forgive us our sins. Renew us by your Spirit. Show us how to act, think, and live as Christ.  As you have forgiven us, make us merciful and ready to forgive those who have sinned against us.

Remind us, O God, of your promises and help us to persevere in our lives with love and reverence for you. Lead us away from temptation and deliver us from evil. Protect us from discouragement, and encourage us by your Spirit. Bring us safely through this day and all our days to come.

Through Christ, we pray. Amen.

Friday, July 11, 2014

Friday Favorites - Lanesboro

Next month we'll be have our church family camping weekend in Lanesboro. Have you signed up yet? Cheri and I are looking forward to doing some bike riding today, and we'll be leading some songs around the campfire.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Thursday Thinking - Afterlife

Last fall on National Public Radio's All Things Considered, Robert Siegel interviewed five different people on their beliefs about life after death. I found it interesting and thought I would pull all the links together here in case you wanted to check it out. The five interviews include an evangelical Christian pastor, a Muslim imam, a secular philosopher, a Jewish rabbi, and a Catholic nun. I especially appreciated some of the ideas put forward in the interview with philosopher, Samuel Scheffler.

Siegel introduced the series with these words: "A majority of Americans from all walks of life believe in life after death. Yet conversations about the afterlife — from what it might look and feel like to who else one may find there — often remain highly personal ones, shared with family members, clergy or others who share one's faith. To better understand how many Americans conceive of the afterlife, All Things Considered has spoken with leaders from different faith traditions on their views on life after death."

An Evangelical Protestant Pastor's Beliefs:
The Rev. Gabriel Salguero, a pastor of The Lamb's Church in New York City and president of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition, tells NPR's Robert Siegel how faith in the afterlife informs Salguero's life and why he sees heaven as a place where diverse people coexist without the tensions that sometimes divide them on earth.
READ OR LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW

A Muslim Imam's Beliefs:
NPR's Robert Siegel spoke with Mufti Asif Umar, a Muslim scholar and imam of the Islamic Foundation of Greater St. Louis, about what Muslims believe and about his own beliefs.
READ OR LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW

A Secular Philosopher's Beliefs:
Philosopher Samuel Scheffler doesn't believe in a traditional afterlife — that is, he doesn't think that a spirit or soul survives the body's physical death. But he does believe in another kind of afterlife: Regardless of what we think about our own life after death, Scheffler tells NPR's Robert Siegel, we all trust that others will continue to live after us. And, much like faith in a spiritual afterlife, that belief changes what we choose to do with our days on earth.
READ OR LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW

A Jewish Rabbi's Beliefs:
Millions of Americans believe in the afterlife, and author and scholar Joseph Telushkin is no exception. The Orthodox rabbi has written extensively about Judaism and says that the concept of God is incompatible with the idea that life ends at death. He holds that conviction so strongly, he tells NPR's Robert Siegel, because he believes that God is just — and he has to assume that a just God would provide some reward to a person who has lived his or her life well, while imposing a different fate upon those who do evil.
READ OR LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW

A Catholic Nun's Beliefs:
Perhaps it's no surprise that Mary Catherine Hilkert, a Catholic theologian, a professor at Notre Dame and a Dominican Sister of Peace, believes that people can find love, mercy and union with God after death. In her eyes, however, the concept of hell is far less definitive.
READ OR LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW

Wednesday, July 09, 2014

Wednesday Words - Summer Wind


It is a sultry day; the sun has drunk
The dew that lay upon the morning grass;
There is no rustling in the lofty elm
That canopies my dwelling, and its shade
Scarce cools me. All is silent, save the faint
And interrupted murmur of the bee,
Settling on the sick flowers, and then again
Instantly on the wing. The plants around
Feel the too potent fervors: the tall maize
Rolls up its long green leaves; the clover droops
Its tender foliage, and declines its blooms.
But far in the fierce sunshine tower the hills,
With all their growth of woods, silent and stern,
As if the scorching heat and dazzling light
Were but an element they loved. Bright clouds,
Motionless pillars of the brazen heaven–
Their bases on the mountains–their white tops
Shining in the far ether–fire the air
With a reflected radiance, and make turn
The gazer’s eye away. For me, I lie
Languidly in the shade, where the thick turf,
Yet virgin from the kisses of the sun,
Retains some freshness, and I woo the wind
That still delays his coming. Why so slow,
Gentle and voluble spirit of the air?
Oh, come and breathe upon the fainting earth
Coolness and life! Is it that in his caves
He hears me? See, on yonder woody ridge,
The pine is bending his proud top, and now
Among the nearer groves, chestnut and oak
Are tossing their green boughs about. He comes;
Lo, where the grassy meadow runs in waves!
The deep distressful silence of the scene
Breaks up with mingling of unnumbered sounds
And universal motion. He is come,
Shaking a shower of blossoms from the shrubs,
And bearing on their fragrance; and he brings
Music of birds, and rustling of young boughs,
And sound of swaying branches, and the voice
Of distant waterfalls. All the green herbs
Are stirring in his breath; a thousand flowers,
By the road-side and the borders of the brook,
Nod gayly to each other; glossy leaves
Are twinkling in the sun, as if the dew
Were on them yet, and silver waters break
Into small waves and sparkle as he comes.

"Summer Wind" by William Cullen Bryant.

Tuesday, July 08, 2014

Tuesday Tome - A Glass Half Full

A Glass Half Full
Felix Dennis

I first heard of Felix Dennis through a TED Talk where he read selections of his poetry. Dennis is an enigmatic character to say the least. His poetry is thoroughly 21st century in it's content, but is written with the meter and rhyme you would expect from a nineteenth century poet.

The poems range from profane to profound--from provocative to proverbial. I enjoyed more poems in the collection than not. The book comes with an audio CD of Dennis reading his poems.
________________________

All men know themselves a fraud,
Society or hoi polloi;
Strip the polish off a lord,
You will find a frightened boy.
from "The Mask" (p. 45)

And wise the man who will not lend,
But in the dead of night will send
A gift. And thus, will save a friend.
from "Neither a Lender..." (p. 153)

Monday, July 07, 2014

Monday Music - Letting Go



Letting Go
She'll take the painting in the hallway
The one she did in Jr. High
And that old lamp up in the attic
She'll need some light to study by

She's had 18 years
To get ready for this day
She should be past the tears
She cries some anyway

Oh, oh, letting go
There's nothing in her way now
Oh, letting go, there's room enough to fly
And even though, she's spent her whole life waiting
It's never easy letting go

Mother sits down at the table
So many things she'd like to do
Spend more time out in the garden
Now she can get those books read too

She's had 18 years
To get ready for this day
She should be past the tears
But she cries some anyway

Oh, oh, letting go
There's nothing in her way now
Oh, letting go,
there's room enough to fly
And even though, she's spent her whole life waiting
It's never easy letting go

© Universal Music Publishing Group
Songwriters: WALKER, LOUIS JOSEPH / PARKER, AMY / BROWN, FONTAINE

Sunday, July 06, 2014

Sunday Supplication - When We Feel Like Running

Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear us than we are to pray. Your readiness to provide for our needs is greater than our readiness to live for your glory. You remove our fears, you graciously bless us, and you draw us into fellowship with you through Jesus Christ our Savior.

Thank you for your promise to forgive and purify us. Thank you for being the one who saves. Forgive us our sins. Renew us by your Spirit. Show us how to act, think, and live as Christ.  As you have forgiven us, make us merciful and ready to forgive those who have sinned against us.

When we are afraid, O God, help us to be still and put our trust in you. When we feel like running in the face of challenges and obstacles, give us the courage to stand firm. Be our help, our shelter, and our deliverer.

Through Christ, we pray. Amen.

Friday, July 04, 2014

Friday Favorites - Fat Lorenzo's


Fat Lorenzo's is one of my favorite little restaurants in the Twin Cities. If things work out right, I hope to be eating lunch there today. If you've never been there, you're really missing out. Get down there and check it out. And when you do, be careful when you order, because the serving sizes are very generous.

Fat Lorenzo's
5600 Cedar Ave. South
Minneapolis, MN 55417
612-822-2040


Here are a few reviews you might want to check out...
•  Minneapolites
•  The Heavy Table
City Pages Blog


Thursday, July 03, 2014

Thursday Thinking - Markets and Civic Life



Are there some things that money cannot (or should not) buy? This is a very succinct and thought-provoking talk from Michael Sandel. He raises some very good questions about markets, values, incentives, and meaning. If you've never seen Sandel before, I think you will find him to be a very effective communicator and teacher. I encourage you to watch the video and would appreciate any comments you might like to share in response.  Thanks.

An Excerpt from this TED Talk...
Over the past three decades, we have lived through a quiet revolution. We've drifted almost without realizing it from having a market economy to becoming market societies. The difference is this: A market economy is a tool, a valuable and effective tool, for organizing productive activity, but a market society is a place where almost everything is up for sale. It's a way of life, in which market thinking and market values begin to dominate every aspect of life: personal relations, family life, health, education, politics, law, civic life.

Now, why worry? Why worry about our becoming market societies? For two reasons, I think. One of them has to do with inequality. The more things money can buy, the more affluence, or the lack of it, matters. If the only thing that money determined was access to yachts or fancy vacations or BMWs, then inequality wouldn't matter very much. But when money comes increasingly to govern access to the essentials of the good life -- decent health care, access to the best education, political voice and influence in campaigns -- when money comes to govern all of those things, inequality matters a great deal. And so the marketization of everything sharpens the sting of inequality and its social and civic consequence. That's one reason to worry.

There's a second reason apart from the worry about inequality, and it's this: with some social goods and practices, when market thinking and market values enter, they may change the meaning of those practices and crowd out attitudes and norms worth caring about.
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Wednesday, July 02, 2014

Wednesday Words - Follower


My father worked with a horse-plough,His shoulders globed like a full sail strung
Between the shafts and the furrow.
The horse strained at his clicking tongue.

An expert. He would set the wing
And fit the bright steel-pointed sock.
The sod rolled over without breaking.
At the headrig, with a single pluck

Of reins, the sweating team turned round
And back into the land. His eye
Narrowed and angled at the ground,
Mapping the furrow exactly.

I stumbled in his hob-nailed wake,
Fell sometimes on the polished sod;
Sometimes he rode me on his back
Dipping and rising to his plod.

I wanted to grow up and plough,
To close one eye, stiffen my arm.
All I ever did was follow
In his broad shadow round the farm.

I was a nuisance, tripping, falling,
Yapping always. But today
It is my father who keeps stumbling
Behind me, and will not go away.

"Follower" by Seamus Heaney. Published by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux (1981) © Copyright 1980 by Seamus Heaney.

Tuesday, July 01, 2014

Tuesday Tome - First Words

I am enjoying a collection of poems, First Words (2010), by Joyce Sutphen. She is currently the Minnesota Poet Laureate and I have posted about her poems before. With titles such as "Zuchinni Bread," "Polka Revival," and "Breakfast," this collection comes across as a very personal, midwestern, down-to-earth memoir in verse. Great stuff!

From Red Dragonfly Press:
Joyce Sutphen grew up on a working dairy farm, and her poems recover this lost world, with all its beauty and order. This collection traces a shift in the rural landscape from horses to tractors, from haystacks to hay bales---and watches as time ages and changes the people who make up the story. First Words is both elegy and celebration--ultimately its center is family, then and now.