Inside the Minds of Valerie and Mike (and Anna)
Earlier this year I wrote a piece reflecting on my first semester of seminary and at one point I mentioned about the unexpected “church crisis”. In part the result of the sudden concentration of church history, biblical studies, and theology, a disconnect started emerging for me. The disconnect centers on the tension between the church... Continue Reading →
So, here we are at the end of Lent. We have arrived at the Triduum, the Three Sacred Days, observed by some communities with a worship service which spans well, three days. Worship starts Maundy Thursday with foot washing and Holy Communion, continues on Good Friday with Christ’s Passion and crucifixion, and ends Saturday (in... Continue Reading →
I have been mulling this one over for some time, like more than a year. My seminary readings for 3 of my 4 classes have landed on hospitality at some point this semester. Hospitality comes in all sorts of forms and styles, and happens in a variety of places. In the past few years we... Continue Reading →
As I suspected, this week is feeling a bit like Week 4 of summer swim season. I bet you are wondering how I’m equating this week of Lent with swim season. For those who do summer swim, you probably get it…those of you who have been part of our County swim league team definitely get... Continue Reading →
The right, or opportune, time is the meaning of the ancient Greek word kairos. And no, I did not learn it in my ancient Greek language class, I knew the word prior to the class. In church circles kairos is used to differentiate from chronos…our time, linear time, measured in hours, days, etc. Theologically, kairos... Continue Reading →
During Lent this year I will be posting a series of weekly reflections with a specific community in mind, but which I hope will resonate with a wider audience. Many of the themes, if not all, are fairly universal in nature and have been recurring themes in my ponderings lately…lately also meaning the past few... Continue Reading →
I have been very tired for the last two days. As a result, I failed to meditate on Saturday and only attempted 10 minutes yesterday. I returned to 20 minutes today but tried something different. I sat in the truck outside work after my commute but before heading inside. (I didn't want to do this... Continue Reading →
I haven't been good about blogging over the last few days, but I only skipped one day of meditation—I was just too tired yesterday evening. Since the last time I wrote, however, I exchanged emails with one of my friends who was part of the inspiration for me to try meditation. After reading through my... Continue Reading →
Today's practice marked two... what? ... milestones perhaps? I hit my target of 20 minutes. Moreover, I did so without almost no thought of time during my period of meditation. Early on I was cognizant of the increased duration and wondered very briefly if I would be able to keep from thinking about it as... Continue Reading →
Yes, I failed to post yesterday. So, I'll write about both yesterday (17 minutes) and today (18+ minutes). Both days had a similar pattern. I started off without much trouble settling into a focus on breath and awareness of the pulls on my thoughts. Both days had strong external factors that began pulling at my... Continue Reading →
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