Russellings of the Spirit

tragedy

  • IT’S A CONSPIRACY!!!

    No, seriously. It’s true. Did you know I heard that Taylor Swift is actually a ROBOT! Yes! You might also be interested to know that she was sent here from the planet Triskaideka to infiltrate our culture and turn teen and pre-teen women… Continue reading

  • Boo! Humbug!

    I think I am in serious need of an Ebenezer Scrooge-like intervention. Except instead of reshaping my attitude about Christmas, this one should target my ideas about Halloween.  I’m a real “BOO, Humbug!” kind of guy when it comes to… Continue reading

  • News to Me

    In the morning it is usually NPR’s Morning Edition, followed by 1A, and then – time permitting, of course – a smidgen or two of The Takeaway with Tanzina Vega. In the evening we rarely miss a date with Lester Holt and the NBC… Continue reading

  • The God Who Gets It

    By now, my response cycle has become a well-practiced routine. I hear news reports of a mass shooting. I shake my head and sigh, “Not again.” I await the slow trickle of further details, incrementally ratcheting up my shock and outrage as… Continue reading

  • Mr. Tidy Guy

    I hate messes. I confess freely and fully to you now that I am a compulsive tidier-upper. Some (such as my loving wife) might even say I verge on being obsessive-compulsive about my tidying. Things lying around on the kitchen… Continue reading

  • At moments like this…

      “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.” Romans 8:26, NRSV Continue reading

  • Stunned and speechless

    “Stunned and speechless” seems to be my default state every time I turn on the news these days. Just when I think it can’t get worse, somehow it does. My capacity for outrage is sorely tested every time one person… Continue reading

  • Try to Remember…

    “Sorry. I forgot.” Boy… If I had a dollar for every time those words have come out of my mouth, I would have a LOT of money. But then after I got that money, the challenge for me would be… Continue reading

  • Caught in the rain

    It happened again. We got caught in the rain. For the second time this week, my wife and I decided we would go ahead and take a hike… even though the weather forecast said rain was likely. And for the… Continue reading

  • When you don’t know… lean

    “I don’t know.” Frankly, I hate that answer. I hate hearing it. I hate giving it. I try to do everything in my power to avoid it. Because it is an answer that is not an answer. And depending on… Continue reading