partsofspeaking

 Don't miss this one!  https://rss.com/podcasts/dialogues-with-creators/974276/ A small church, 1920s, NW Georgia, illiterate pastor, became wealthy and powerful--how did it happen?   Dialogue with David Cady, Religion of Fear, University of Tennessee Press. On Spotify, Stitcher, and Apple.

On Shugart Road there is a lot of retail shopping. One piece of property there houses a Home Depot and a Walmart. Obviously, the access road to these two big box stores is very busy. A woman stands, almost always, across the access road from Home Depot. She is not on their property and she is not the only one who stands in the vicinity, but she is the most consistent one who sets up for business there. The others seem to rotate out, and some take the funny but honest approach, carrying signs like “need money for beer and weed.” This woman appears to be in her 50s, at least. She has thick, long graying blonde hair. She is rather tall and stands erect and motionless except for an occasional little wave at drivers. Her head is bent down a bit; is it embarrassment or shame? Her sign says she is homeless and needs help. I assume that means she wants money. I have seen her in cold weather and warm. In warm she wears short shorts, making me wonder, to my everlasting discredit and shame, w...

 I am an admirer of Casablanca , but some of it bugs me.  Rick says at one point, to Ilsa, “I know we said no questions.”  So, their relationship is based on what? Not knowledge of the other person. Sex? Listening to music in a café. Drinking? How do you not talk? Not inquire about the other person? This is Hollywood love. Transient, passionate, but shallow, not rooted in anything but temporary emotion and attraction, yet somehow supposedly eternal and unforgettable.  

We have been blessed with a cool spring. The air is fresh outside, and the birdsong fits the theme of this psalm. I imagine they are praising the Creator, at some level, at least by their very existence. For animals that applies; humans have to be more intentional about praise. We are here for more than just existence. Psalm 95:1. Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. I shouted joyfully yesterday, in church because we sang about God’s power in the resurrection, and when I heard some good family news. Whether I was conscious that the shouting was “to the Rock of our salvation,” I am not sure in retrospect. That phrase takes some parsing. We read them and overlook each word. “To.” Why would we shout joyfully “to” the Rock? Well, it’s not “at” the Rock. “To” mean more connection; “to” is for communication. Moses was punished for hitting the rock for water rather than speaking to it.   A lesson there, not just about anger and disobedience but h...

I can't say I recommend this article, because it is unutterable sad, but it is worth reading and contemplating. The answer is not assisted euthanasia. It is our individual and cultural attitudes toward humanity.  We judge humanity by productivity.  Productivity to what end? In what way? Largely economic. Once a person stops making money, what value are they? We do not say it that way, but we live it. https://theconversation.com/tiredness-of-life-the-growing-phenomenon-in-western-society-203934?utm_source=pocket-newtab    The church should have the answer. Does it?

  “Oh come.” How often does the Bible, actually, our Lord, say “come”? How often He invites us in and to?   "Come unto me all you who labor and are heavy laden" (quite relevant to this psalm), and I will give you rest. Is come not a beautiful word?" We might hear “go,” the command to spread the message, but we must come to Him who invites and beckons, the first time and every day after that. Being the owner of two fairly large and strong-willed dogs (translate that to not obedience-trained), “come” has special meaning to me. I say it a lot. If they are out of the fence for some reason, something I try to avoid, the “come” is full of frustration and fear and annoyance. It is harsh and sharp and loud, and my voice grows more into that sound I do not like to hear—mostly because Butter the lab mix is an escape artist who can take on some speed. Nala the pit bull mix is 12.5 years old and not as likely to rush away; she just feigns deafness and continues to wander and...

“We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.” These sweet, sweet words are here in tribute to a faithful man who has discipled so many of us and stood for grace and truth in New York, modeling ministry for all.   It seems like the end of an era, really. We have not lost only a man and pastor, but a light.