Russellings of the Spirit

Latest Posts

  • Lord, in your mercy…

    … hear our prayer. Hear our prayer for humility in the face of chaos and confusion. Hear our prayer for justice, administered without regard for place or privilege. Hear our prayer for softened hearts and willing hands. Hear our prayer… Continue reading

  • The Enemy Within

    Raised voices. Shaken fists. Popped forehead veins. Tensed muscles. We all recognize the signals of anger. We have seen it at work many times before; in ourselves and in others. We are seeing overwhelming amounts of it in our nation’s… Continue reading

  • Passing Through Waters

    It snowed here last night. It wasn’t much – maybe two inches total. But it was enough to make me glad I was not out trying to drive through the fast-falling flakes. On other occasions, I have not been quite… Continue reading

  • An Unfinished Christmas

    I may have mentioned this before (apologies to you if this is old, stale news), but Joan and I are in the middle of a giant remodel in our home. Shortly after moving in to this house, we decided to… Continue reading

  • Put Some Meat On It

    What has Christmas cost you… so far? And no, I am not talking about the money you have spent on presents… or decorations… or food… or postage for all of those cards… or gas for your car. In fact, I… Continue reading

  • My Christmas of Shame

    As the Christmas of my 12th year approached, I wanted a Sting-Ray bike so badly I could taste it. “Everybody has one,” I told my parents, although I’m not sure that was technically true. There were probably one or two 12-year-olds in… Continue reading

  • Trusting the Master Mapmaker

    I am not exactly sure when it started, but for a very long time I’ve had a deep fascination with MAPS. I remember my very real excitement when – at the age of eight or nine – my grandfather handed… Continue reading

  • Oddball World

    “They are SO ODD!” “I mean, look at that guy over there! What is up with that jacket he’s wearing? The sleeves are WAAAAYY too short and it’s not even zipped up all the way. Makes you want to shout,… Continue reading

  • Grace in the Wilderness

    Yesterday, Joan and I decided to indulge ourselves. Nothing big, really. Just a quick drop-in to one of our favorite neighborhood ice cream places to get a sweet treat.  You see, I had just come out of my dermatologist’s office… Continue reading

  • New Shoes

    This past weekend I observed a personal ritual known as, “The Changing of the Shoes.” It is exactly like the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, except without the pageantry, fuzzy hats, Corgis, Englishness, formality, or really anything else. My ritual… Continue reading