Russellings of the Spirit

mercy

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • Unedited You

    Writing is hard. Writing well is harder. (Or should that be “Writing good…”?) Yet, in spite of all the hurdles and pitfalls involved, I would much rather write than talk. The problem with talking is that it is so… INSTANT. A… Continue reading

  • The “Never Enough Club”

    I wasn’t very productive today. But then again, I’m on vacation. Productivity is not really expected of people on vacation… is it? Two weeks ago, on the other hand, I was NOT on vacation. It was a Thursday as I… Continue reading

  • Barcode Faith*

    My friend Mike died yesterday. Mike had been in the process of dying of cancer for the past six months or so. I had been to see Mike over the weekend and if not for the full, gray beard and… Continue reading

  • What kind of hope?

    Since the calendar tells me we are creeping right up on it, my thoughts this morning turn to Advent… also known to Christians throughout the world as the season of hope. It is the time when we try to do… Continue reading

  • Judgment Day

    “You’re too…” Have you ever been on the receiving end of a sentence that began this way? If so, you know that there are an unlimited number of adjectives that can follow. Almost all of them involve some central element… Continue reading

  • LOVE NOTICES

    But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; for I noticed that power had gone out from me.” Luke 8:46, NRSV Have you ever noticed? Jesus notices stuff. For sure he notices the things that are right there… big as life… smack dab in front of… Continue reading