Russellings of the Spirit

life

  • “Let me OFF!”

    Well, it’s that time of year again. It is the time of year when the antennae of clergyfolk in the United Methodist Church are exquisitely attuned to every minor shift in the wind, every minute rise or fall in barometric… Continue reading

  • Saggy Clay

    “Yet, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.”(Isaiah 64:8, NRSV) One of my favorite courses in college was Pottery 101. We started out the class by… Continue reading

  • Soul Winter

    Yep. Just poked my head out the window and confirmed something I’ve suspected for about a month now. IT’S WINTER! (Unless, of course, you happen to live in the southern hemisphere). And by the looks of things, it plans to… Continue reading

  • Back to the Grind

    All I can say today is a loud, “Whew!” Another Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year/Hannaukah/Kwaanza/Festivus season has come and gone and has successfully wrung me out like a wet dishrag. And just to make things extra merry and bright, this year Joan and… Continue reading

  • This Old Table

    And so it begins. Earlier today Joan and I bid a fond farewell to the lovely distressed barnwood table (and six matching chairs) as it was toted out of our breakfast room. So many meals around that table. So many… Continue reading

  • Graduation Day

    Ah, graduation. I remember it… vaguely. But as luck and family circumstance would have it, I had a chance to relive that magic moment a couple of weeks ago. My wife and I were privileged to travel to Corvallis, Oregon… Continue reading

  • Portion Control

    OK… quick show of hands: who has ever heard the comment, “Why you’re a chip off the old block, aren’t you?” Personally, I have heard it more than a few times… and I usually take it as high praise. One… Continue reading

  • Padless living

    “Sometimes life feels like playing football with no pads.” –       R. Brown, 2019 In a time long ago and far away, I played football. The American version, that is. The kind that requires helmets, shoulder pads, thigh pads, kneepads, cleats,… Continue reading

  • 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

  • Scratch it!

    Have you ever had an itch? I mean the kind that was located at that exactly perfectly unreachable spot on your back… just right THERE. An intense itch. The kind that would not be ignored nor trifled with. It is… Continue reading