Month: April 2014
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The Virtue of Inconsistency
My favorite quotation of all time was made by Ralph Waldo Emerson. I loved it the first time I read it, back when I was a literature major in college: “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.” I always thought “hobgoblin” was a fun-to-say word – almost onomatopoeic – the sound it makes […]
Marian
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My Grade on Giving up Hurry for Lent
On Easter Abbey spent about an hour out on our deck, watching two geese float back and forth on the pond. She said to me, “Mom, did you notice that two of our geese have finally come back home? Two years ago they were here at the beginning of Lent. This year they didn’t come […]
Marian
Abbey, Alan Fadling, An Unhurried Life, bonfire, Easter, Easter hymn, Easter Vigil, Edward Hays, Exultet, geese, giving up hurry for Lent, God’s love, hidden joys, hurry, hurrying, Jesus Christ is Risen Today, Jesus’ rhythms of work and rest, Lent, life challenges, listening for God, love your neighbor, Messiah Church, Messiah Lutheran Church, nature, pillars of fire, Prayers for a Planetary Pilgrim, reflections, spirituality, talking with God, The Good Samaritan -
Flipping Patterns
One of my favorite stories that my mom used to tell is about when she was trying to make a dress. She laid out the fabric on the table and pinned the pattern to the fabric. She carefully cut out each piece, but she was having trouble with the dress sleeves. She kept getting two […]
Marian
confirmation, Edward Hays, Elsie Korth, God’s love, keeping company with God, listening for God, Lord’s Prayer, Nancy Kornelsen, Our Father, patterns, Philip Yancey, piano prayer, prayer, prayer patterns, Prayers for a Planetary Pilgrim, reflections, spirituality, structured prayer, talking with God, The Lord’s Prayer -
A 50-cent Thrill
I learned a new word last week – “mirabilary.” Well, it’s not exactly a new word – just new to me. The dictionary (if you can even find it in your dictionary) says it’s obsolete. The 101-year-old 1913 edition of Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary defined it as, “One who, or a work which, narrates […]
Marian
50 cents, 50-cent thrill, assisted living, awakened living, bolt out of the blue, Book of Wonders, daily devotions, devotional book, divine visitation, Edward Hays, God’s love, joy, kind deeds, kindness, life challenges, lightning, listening for God, love your neighbor, Madison Symphony Orchestra, mirabilaries, mirabilary, Overture Center, parking garage, parking meter, reflections, spirituality, talking with God, two quarters, unexpected kindness, wonder-worker, wonderstruck -
Ashamed
I’ve never been as ashamed of my evangelical roots as I’ve been this past week. Although I am currently a Lutheran with fairly liberal leanings on social issues, nothing ever has been more important to me than loving God and loving my neighbors on earth as a demonstration of that love. As an infant, I […]
Marian
ashamed, bullying, bullying by evangelicals, evangelical bullies, evangelicals, gay marriage, God’s love, humanitarian efforts, kindness, life challenges, listening for God, love your neighbor, personnel policy, reflections, same-sex marriage, spirituality, sponsor a child, sponsor children, talking with God, Wheaton College, World Vision