partsofspeaking

As often mentioned here, I teach every week or so, an adult women's life group class. While I follow the structure of The Gospel Project literature I'm given (and it's good, no disses here), I don't always follow the spirit. We did not meet on the 29th, so I'm combining two lessons in one: Daniel 7 and Obadiah. Suffice it to say Obadiah doesn't get taught much or talked about any in popular evangelical conversation, but since I'm scheduled to teach it, here goes. The lessons of Obadiah:  God judges but warns over and over and over about it.   These warnings about judgment are signs of His compassion and righteousness. In our minds we split those up, but God’s character, being, whatever we call it can’t be separated. We talk about God as such an abstraction, such a construct, rather than a person. That is probably a step, or jump, to loving God, knowing God.   Getting away from the construct, theoretical, dissecting language and understanding Him mor...

At this time of year, the waning days of December, we are supposed to reprise the past 365 days and then set plans for the next calendar year. My 2019 has been a mixed bag. The year has been a mixed bag in general, but I long ago realized a particular year is only a human construct; we could just as easy start it in July as now. The fourth president to be impeached, or threatened seriously with it, was. I really wonder how many people see that impeachment, and Pelosi's shenanigans since, as affecting their lives in any way. It's the presidency as a reality TV show; this is the plot arc of the month. Trump is a shameful person, but he is duly elected and really, other than his mouth, hasn't done much wrong. However, the damage he has done with his mouth is stupendously bad. I can say my career went well. I won two awards, one actually involving money. I got a "big check" that was as exciting as the money. I was nominated for a big state award but lost of cour...

It's the F-word no one wants to talk about, yet I believe it is the underlying and overwhelming problem of the church. Fear. Remember the stickers on cars that said "No Fear"? Apparently it was a "lifestyle clothing brand." I thought it was a rock group. Regardless, that is just a slogan. Fear is more the reality. My verse for meditation is "God has not given us a spirit of fear . . . "  In context, 2 Timothy 1:3ff 3  I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day, 4  greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy, 5  when I call to remembrance the [ b ] genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also. 6  Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7  For God has not given us ...

Christianity Today has taken a lot of criticism for its editorial about Trump. So be it.  Here is their response: https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2019/december-web-only/trump-evangelicals-editorial-christianity-today-president.html A quotation: Galli’s editorial focused on the impeachment, but it was clear the issues are deeper and broader. Reasonable people can differ when it comes to the flagrantly partisan impeachment process. But this is not merely about impeachment, or even merely about President Trump. He is not the sickness. He is a symptom of a sickness that began before him, which is the hyper-politicization of the American church. This is a danger for all of us, wherever we fall on the political spectrum. Jesus said we should give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s. With profound love and respect, we ask our brothers and sisters in Christ to consider whether they have given to Caesar what belongs only to God: their unconditional lo...

I posted this when I first started watching the show The Good Place which I think was originally on NBC but now is all on Netflix. While I don't "binge watch" per se I have watched 25 of them in the past two weeks and have gotten to where Michael makes a big decision. The Good Place is an afterlife without God, Christ, or the Holy Spirit, but I think it gives us some food for thought about faith and expectations of Christian spirituality. (January 5, 2020) ____________ Because we cut the cable and I was determined not to watch any schmaltzy Christmas miracle movies (I'm looking at you, Hallmark Channel), I have been looking for things to watch on Netflix when I am doing my physical therapy, laundry, or need a break from research. I have added an addendum to the original post of three days ago. I started watching The Good Place. I've gotten to the eleventh or twelfth episode and will probably stop; I think I've got the general plot figured out and the v...

We have a cart on the second floor of our building where professors put out books they are willing to cull from their shelves. Anyone can pick up one. Most are out-of-date textbooks or literary criticism from thirty years ago. Occasionally a novel in pristine condition shows up. I jump on it and figure if it's there, it must be unwanted by someone. Because my department includes foreign language which also includes literature and culture, I snatched up a copy of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao in December. I knew one of my faculty had used it in his dissertation and presented on it, and, heh, it won the Pulitzer. I read the first chapter and was not so much mystified but unsure why I should keep reading. A fat Dominican kid in New Jersey who can't get a girl friend and seems to have a crazy, hateful mother and beautiful, caring sister. OK. I'm in my sixies; do I really want to read about teenaged angst, Latino style? Plus, there was a lot of language I don't...

I saw this film the night before Thanksgiving. Obviously, I'm behind in my blogging! As a fan and writer of mystery fiction, I found it enjoyable way to waste two hours at the local movie house, especially when some of my life was falling apart and I needed to be distracted. It takes a different spin on the genre and puts Daniel Craig in a different kind of role (he does a Southern accent, which he has done in other movies, but he gets it wrong--he's supposed to be from Kentucky but is doing a Louisiana, deep South dialect). At the same time it is the typical parlor room mystery moved to New England rather than Old England, in a wildly imaginative house. In short, the hugely dysfunctional family of a hugely successful mystery writer gather for his 85th birthday. He is found dead the next morning, throat cut. So, how? Was it his worthless grandson, his hanger-on children and daughter-in-law, or his personal nurse, to whom he has decided (without telling anyone) to leave his ...

One of my published books is Leading in a Strange Land: A Study in Daniel and Leadership. Though I've sold few copies, I loved working on it. Daniel is an infinitely fascinating book, and he is a prototype of a believer working in a (very) secular environment and keeping all his ethics intact. However, I did not touch the prophetic elements of Daniel. I'm not agnostic about prophecy, only standoffish. I was raised as a young believer on pure premillenialism--charts, mark of the beast, Israel as fig tree reblooming, the pseudo-date-setting, the whole nine yards. I've read every word of John McArthur's commentary on Revelation (I taught it last spring). I know all the arguments. And I haven't come to any firm conclusions except that I'll let God take care of it. However, I'm supposed to teach life group next Sunday and, this being a Baptist church, the literature is about Daniel's prophecies. And I had a bit of a revelation myself. I think prophecy...

Most will recognize that line from the Hallelujah Chorus , which is quoting Revelation 11:15. Along with verbal power, the music always grabs me. Handel (and the performers) put in a pause that is theologically meaningful. There is a dramatic pause before the second part of the sentence happens. That pause is now. We live between the two advents, a time of already and not yet. At Christmas we talk a lot about "the newborn King." For most it's mere sentimentality. We go with the flow and really don't think about the political, theological, or eschatological meaning of Jesus as King.  Americans are particular allergic to kingship. Jesus as King is something we accept but simply don't understand and probably, if honest, are not that keen on. There are many reasons for this state of affairs. Kings live in the land of fairy tales. Our whole culture and system of government and world view is based on denial of a king. We equate kings with oppression, lack of right...

A former student/debater and now friend and pastor in the Midwest posted this to his blog. Deeply touching and even more deeply true. The worst thing is not the last thing. I must keep this in mind as I enter a new stage of life. We all must keep this in mind daily because grief is real and constant. https://internetmonk.com/archive/christmas-and-the-empty-chair/comment-page-1#comment-1142832 Did I mention how wonderful a writer he is?

Last summer my son and I took our hurried vacation in Boston and Maine. We saw as much of everything as we could, within our six days, including the flights from Atlanta. We saw the Red Sox demolish the Yankees in Fenway, toured the Museum of Fine Arts, walked around the Commons, saw Cheers, and fed the descendants of the ducklings that were made way for. While he toured Harvard, MIT, and Boston College (he's a big ACC fan), I took a bus tour to Lexington, Concord, and Louisa May Alcott's home. The women on the tour were in love. Proof positive: Me by the sign. Photo taken by the tour bus driver (that was another story). Having watched documentaries about Alcott, having seen all the versions of Little Women except the Melissa Gilbert one, and having read the book more than once (often stopping when it becomes clear Jo is not going to marry Laurie--how could she not?!) I of course was going to spend Christmas night at the movies alone watching Greta Gerwig's new vers...

For those concerned about the spiritual, these are Scriptural (in general). https://getpocket.com/explore/item/9-toxic-mental-habits-that-the-most-emotionally-intelligent-people-avoid?utm_source=pocket-newtab

Due to personal issues (see previous posts) I'm doing little with Christmas this year--well, actually, I just didn't put up a tree and didn't visit family out of town. I spent as much money otherwise and cooked plenty and enjoyed three services of music. Not putting up a tree was rather refreshing, because now I don't have to take it down. Instead, I bought a ceramic tree with lights like my mom used to have. I rather like it. Several years ago I just chose not to succumb to the stress and insanity we are supposed to suffer from in December. The solstice is over, the days are getting longer, and I don't run myself ragged for no reason. So I'm happy to see from this article in CT that C.S. Lewis felt the same: https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2019/december-web-only/cs-lewis-grinch-christmas.html He says it better than I do!

Our pastor has been preaching a series called a slow walk to the manger. The walk is almost over, but one travels on with the manger and cross as the basic truth. God is with us, and He was with us in human form 2000 years ago, living in a way that no one could say He didn't understand human life and frailty and temptation and suffering. Let us remember He was poor. Poor, people. Not just lacking some money or a few comforts, but poor and the owner of nothing. Before His ministry He worked as a stonemason or perhaps a craftsman (technon), physical work. It is beyond our imagining how He lived. How He died. Let's stop acting like we have it figured out. Marvel this Christmas. Marveling puts us in a state without ground beneath us, a state where what we think is the foothold of reality is seen anew. And yet we can stand on it, sit on it, lie on it, kneel on it. We cut the cable, so I'm not the least tempted to watch some phony Christmas miracle program on Hallmark. I ca...

I confess that over the 13 years or so I've blogged, it's had three purposes: 1. Share information about communication, learning, and spirituality that would he helpful to readers. 2. Share reflection or writing that might be interesting to reader. 3. Spout off or record some thoughts for my own use. Unfortunately, #3 was far too frequent.  So, I hope that in the future this blog will be far more focused on #1. That said, I have "hired" an intern who will be taking over my marketing for my books and writing, and I will shift some of my blogging to my totally underused website, which she will also take over. There I will blog more on fiction and writing.

I am a firm believer in life hacks. We are approaching the end of the year, when "everyone" (probably fewer than we think) reprises and reflects on 2019 and plans for the next year (2020--Oh, my!) And we come up with big ideas: for me, it's piano lessons, on top of a new apartment, etc. But. . . what often changes our lives is what are called tweaks or nudges or life hacks. Seemingly small behavioral changes that have long term impact. Like not drinking sweet tea any more and only water. (And then later cutting sugar from some other source, rather than all sugar all at once.) Like replacing the word "but" with "and" in conversations. Like only checking email two or three times a day (rather than 27, as I do). Like getting rid of some apps on the phone so we are less dependent on it. And like replacing social media use with prayer.  Here is an article on some conversational life hacks I thought might be helpful. https://getpocket.com/explo...

One of my favorite Christian songs about Christmas (it's not a carol, more a character piece) is the following: I'm sure he must have been surprised At where this road had taken him Cause never in a million lives Would he have dreamed of Bethlehem And standing at the manger He saw with his own eyes The message from the angel come to life And Joseph said Why me, I'm just a simple man of trade Why Him with all the rulers in the world Why here inside this stable filled with hay Why her, she's just an ordinary girl Now I'm not one to second guess What angels have to say But this is such a strange way to save the World To think of how it could have been If Jesus had come as He deserved There would have been no Bethlehem No lowly shepherds at His birth But Joseph knew the Reason love had to reach so far And as he held the Savior in his arms He must have thought Why me, I'm just a simple man of trade Why Him with all the rulers...

While I don't know who comes to this blog other than porn sites, I am shouting into cyberspace to say I'm returning to blogging and writing and coming out of a fog, depression, valley, etc. I have chosen to live separately from my husband after 38 years of marriage. Currently I am living with some (wealthy) acquaintances who are becoming friends, since I'm occupying their basement and spending some of the holidays with them, and I will move into an apartment within walking distance from my office in early January. The reasons for the separation (not legal, but amicable and necessary) are too complicated to go into here and not really anyone's business, but since the reasons have existed for years I should have separated years ago. While the decision was hard, it feels very right now and I look forward to 2020 and a level of freedom.  I do miss my dog though. What I hope is that I will write more, having taken a break because I didn't have the emotional or psyc...

https://forge.medium.com/the-self-help-movement-that-is-upending-american-christianity-9ce381e10d4f Now, let me start by saying that I am going through a personal crisis right now. The article's talk of "Essence falls into ego" and "personality as a mechanism we create to deal with our brokenness" is interesting, in that I can see how what others see is not our trueness, but a way we've sometimes developed because of deep hurts to us and, as Enneagram teaches, developed as barriers to what we want. My own crisis makes me wonder how my own behavior has created the crisis. Not very positive, but real. That said, the whole thing sounds like hooey.