Russellings of the Spirit

God

  • Here in the aftermath…

    “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” (John 12:21, NRSV) Today, words fail. And yet, I have always been encouraged that the attempt to assemble appropriate words can often be the beginning point of the process of healing. So I press on… I… Continue reading

  • Old eyes, new eyes/Brown eyes, blue eyes

    For at least the first week and a half afterward, it is like I had an eye transplant. Old eyes gone… a new set dropped into their place. And then, inevitably, I realize that the old eyes have returned… slowly… Continue reading

  • MINE!

    I hoped my wince went unnoticed. But then I realized I was dealing with one of the most perceptive, most eagle-eyed people God ever created; my wife Joan. And so of course… she saw the wince as soon as it… Continue reading

  • You Belong

    Three doors down from the house I grew up in lived a family named the Thompsons. There was Mr. Thompson, Mrs. Thompson (that was back in the time when kids didn’t know adults’ first names) and their three sons. If… Continue reading

  • Maintenance Man

    If it is out, I need to put it away. If it is crinkled, I need to iron it. If it is dirty, I need to clean it. If it is untidy, I need to tidy it. If it is… Continue reading

  • The Power of Commitment

    It is admittedly a little odd to peer inside my head today and see the two things taking up most of the space there: The Kansas City Chiefs football team, and… Martin Luther King, Jr. The Chiefs are there because… Continue reading

  • Blasts from pasts

    It is the great boon and the great bane of our wonderful world of instantaneous electronic connection. You or I can be shuffling along, minding our own business, when SHAZAM! a voice or face from the distant, forgotten past suddenly… Continue reading

  • Leaf it to God

    The blowing wind woke me up this morning. Check that… I meant to say, “The wildly blowing, nearly gale-force wind woke me up this morning.” There, just outside our bedroom windows, I could see the branches of large trees swaying hypnotically, as… Continue reading

  • Trusting God

    When your light turns green and it’s time to move, you first have to trust. Before that door is closed and sealed, before your seatbelt is fastened tight and low across your lap, and before the pre-flight safety announcement begins,… Continue reading

  • Will and Grace

    “A NEW YEAR… A NEW YOU.” That was either the advertising slogan of Weight Watchers or my health club. Maybe both. Sounds good, doesn’t it? But as I stood there and did my assessment in front of the mirror this… Continue reading