Russellings of the Spirit

compassion

  • I Can’t Know

    By my not-totally-rigorous estimate, I have officiated at close to 100 funerals during my career as a pastor. This total was boosted significantly by one memorable week in 2014 when there were three. Every one of these formal church services… Continue reading

  • Me and Rosie and the GOM

    Fort Collins, Colorado – the place where Joan and I moved last November – is a friendly place. And when I say friendly, I mean VERY friendly. Actually, I have an introverted friend here who loves almost everything about Fort… Continue reading

  • Something from Nothing, Part 2

    (In yesterday’s installment, I recounted one of my most abysmal performances as a pastoral counselor. Troy, a congregant, had come to see me with an incredible mountain of problems including job loss, cancer, his wife’s infidelity, and parenting challenges, all… Continue reading

  • Change is Coming

    Think back; do you recall events in your life that CHANGED you? I mean, changed you in a profound, lasting, BC/AD kind of way? I believe I was forever changed that time my dad suffered third-degree burns on his upper… Continue reading

  • Chew on it

    “Is this mine to do?” Sometimes this is an easy question to answer… other times it is surprisingly difficult. In my experience, it is also a question that most folks do not ask nearly often enough. I was across town… Continue reading

  • Go Do Love

    Yesterday at church I heard an inspiring sermon. The pastor challenged me (well, all of us actually) to make an intentional practice of acknowledging the many-layered, complex, rich, and vibrant nature of every person we meet. She told us that… Continue reading

  • The real emergency

    Settling in, I was struck by how quiet and calm it all was. For a room whose first name is EMERGENCY, I had visions of wailing sirens, screaming people, racing doctors, and slippery pools of blood on the floor, visions,… Continue reading

  • For me?

    Joan and I (and Joan’s daughter Jessica) are in Puerto Rico for a few days, enjoying our first-ever trip to this island. What an amazing place! If you have never been, I highly recommend it. For Jessica, this is a… Continue reading

  • The Overmow

    “… outdo one another in showing honor.”                                    Romans 12:10, NRSV My next-door neighbor and I are in a competition. Not that I’m keeping score or anything, but I think I just went ahead by one earlier today. (Self… Continue reading

  • Confessions of a human punching bag

    If memory serves, sixth grade was the last time I was ever in a genuine fistfight. It was a hot summer day. As usual, I was at the community swimming pool with my friends splashing, diving, and horsing around. When… Continue reading