Russellings of the Spirit

family

  • LOVE YOU, MOM

    When it comes to mothers worth celebrating (as we are prompted to do on the second Sunday of every May), I am bountifully blessed.  Due to several curious twists and turns along life’s road, I have hit the proverbial Maternal Motherlode.… Continue reading

  • Dust to Diamonds

    What does the word “redemption” mean to you? Do you hear it as the same word as “salvation”? Or something different? Maybe something transactional… like redeeming your airline miles or your S&H Green Stamps? (Kids, go ask your grandparents what Green… Continue reading

  • Bless Me?

    “Grandpa, can you bless yourself?” There I was, walking home with my 10-year-old grandson Will with he and his dad. You know, just a casual stroll along the tree-lined path between Will’s school and their home. We sauntered along, idly… Continue reading

  • What Do You Want?

    If you are a celebrator of Christmas, you know exactly what I mean when I ask, “So… how was your Christmas?” You would correctly assume I am asking whether you were able to get in a little rest and relaxation time,… Continue reading

  • A Chat with Dad

    Today I am going to do something I have not done before. Since today is November 1, I have decided I am going to hold my own, small, very Anglo version of Día de los Muertos. Dia de los Muertos, or… Continue reading

  • WHEW! Home at Last!

    4,705 miles. And we ended up right back at the same spot where we started. Naturally, I am referring to the trip Joan and I just took to visit family and hang out in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.  We drove… Continue reading

  • The Gift of Candles

    They say… you know, the all-knowing, all-seeing THEY… that timing is everything.  As is usually the case, they have indulged in a wee bit of literary hyperbole to make a point. The point that TIMING is a really, really important thing. Comedians, trapeze artists,… Continue reading

  • A Rich, Rich Man

    It was one of those perfect, early autumn evenings. The air was still hot and clammy, but the rays of the sun were starting to slant toward the horizon. I was excited because tonight was the first game of the… 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