Russellings of the Spirit

Jesus Christ

  • Celebrating Women in Ministry

    From watching the TODAY Show this morning, I learned that today – October 11 – is the International Day of the Girl. Seems like something I should have known already. I hope you won’t take offense at being called girls,… Continue reading

  • One Funeral Too Many

    Jesus began to weep. (John 11:35, NRSV) Here lately I have been going to entirely too many funerals. OK, I suppose you could say this is just par for the course for people in that “certain” age bracket to which… 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

  • Sometimes it’s complicated

    It seemed like a good idea at the time. Our little Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier puppy Rosie had grown to her full size and was becoming a handful for Joan and me. Yes, a fuzzy, lovable, cute handful. But a handful… Continue reading

  • The Love Loophole

    I love you. At least I know I am supposed to love you. It is one of the central commands of the Christian faith I profess. (See John 13:34, John 15:12, Romans 12:10, Romans 13:8, 1 Thessalonians 4:9, 1 Peter… Continue reading

  • Becoming or Being?

    I live in the Midwestern part of the U.S. It is the part of the country where we have four separate, distinct seasons… according to some. You see, I used to say that we just had two seasons; summer and… Continue reading

  • Change is Good?

    I preach change all the time. When some flavor of change seems to be looming on the horizon, I find scripture to cite to assure folks that God is not just GOOD with change but often actually goes out of his… Continue reading

  • Rubber, meet road

    Worship is weird. What I mean is, for me these days the act of attending a service of worship in a local church is a bit of a strange, unsettling experience. I feel a little bit like Will Ferrell’s character… Continue reading

  • An MVP Mistake

    Pat made a mistake. Yes, hard to believe as it is, the All-Star phenom, Most Valuable Player quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs football team, Patrick Mahomes, made a mistake Sunday. He tried to throw a pass to his tight… Continue reading