Russellings of the Spirit

grace

  • Unreasonable

    She was such a sweet lady. Petite. Probably in her late 70s. Pretty pink knit hat and matching sweater. Cheerful, smiling disposition. I’ll call her Gladys. And the way she phrased her request as just as sweet as she was.… Continue reading

  • “Nope. Not you.”

    Rejection hurts. “Don’t take it personally,” they say. But sometimes personally is the only way you can take it. It’s like the time I was cut from the eighth-grade basketball team. The first three practices were the tryouts. The day after… 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

  • Dragon Slayer

    Last night Joan and I took a brisk, 40-minute drive over to Lawrence, Kansas. Lawrence, as I am sure you all know, is the home of the University of Kansas. The purpose of our trip, however, had nothing to do… Continue reading

  • The Guatemalan Giggle of Grace

    In my life, moments of grace have come in many different forms. The compassionate word. The gentle glance. The understanding touch. The sweet smile. My heart will always reserve a special place for that day when grace came in the… Continue reading

  • The Staged Life

    Joan and I are now living the “staged life.” And I really don’t like it. At all. Here’s the deal; two weeks ago, we put our house on the market. We are in the process of doing what many retired… 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

  • “The Day my Mother Went Crazy”

    I grew up in one of those small towns where everyone knew everything about everyone else. And so it was no surprise that we all heard some version of the story of the day Mrs. Stanfield (not her real name)… Continue reading

  • Need Answers?

    If you want to know what is right, just ask me… … on virtually ANY topic. Let’s start with DRIVING. I can tell you how fast you should be driving, which lane you should be in, how (and when) to… Continue reading

  • Freedom cancer

    Six months ago, I didn’t know much about cancer. If I’m being honest, I would have to tell you I didn’t really want to know anything about it. I called it “the ‘C’ word.” But then September 21 happened. That… Continue reading