Category: Reflections
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The Best Thing about Darkness
There seems to be much more darkness in the world today than there was a week ago, when I last posted my thoughts on this blog. In the most literal sense, the sun rose 9 minutes later today than it rose a week ago, and it will set 7 minutes earlier than it set a…
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No Vacuum in this Mind
My mind is incapable of tolerating a vacuum. It always finds something to be anxious about, or some problem to be solving, or at least some imminent decisions to be mulling over. Often there are multiple urgent thoughts competing for my attention. Then my mind might start thrashing – a technical computer term that kind…
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Thanks, Maria. That Gives me an idea.
A couple years ago, around the first of November, Chaplain Julia of the Jail Ministry invited the women inmates worshiping together in the jail chapel to tell each other about some of their family traditions related to Halloween and All Saints Day. She especially encouraged Maria to explain to us what her friends and family…
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“Music . . . controls our thoughts, minds, hearts, and spirits”
Now is the time to start singing and playing the big, powerful hymns of the church. It all started last Sunday – Reformation Sunday. Our opening hymn at Messiah Lutheran Church was A Mighty Fortress Is Our God. I tried to set the mood for it with a much louder than usual prelude – a simple…
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Remembering my “times” in Jail
The last couple weeks I’ve been spending a lot of my time working on a new booklet, “Stories from JAIL Ministry: Personal Reflections of a Volunteer.” I recently agreed to speak about the Jail Ministry at a potluck luncheon of the senior citizen club of our church, Messiah Lutheran Church in Madison. Since I like…
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An Odd Gift
Some forty years ago, I received a really odd gift from my parents. I had recently graduated from college and was living in a small town in Connecticut. I had become a high school English teacher. My parents gave me, as a gift, their used manure spreader. It wasn’t a particularly practical gift for me.…
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Grinning from Ear to Ear
Floey greeted me as I walked in the door. “Hey, Mom, welcome home. But why do you have such a big smile on your face? I thought you were at a funeral.” “You’re right, Floey. I was at a funeral. It was the fifteenth funeral I’ve played the organ for so far this year. It…
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Playtime… Big Time!
I was sitting at my desk and Floey was lying on the floor in her usual spot, between me and the patio door. “Well, Floey. It’s been a whole week now. What should we tell our blog readers about your play date with your litter mates last Tuesday evening?” “Wow! Mom, I had the time of…
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A Litter Reunion
“What’s on your mind, Floey? You’ve been staring off into space for a long time,” I asked. “Oh, hi, Mom. I didn’t notice you come into the room. I’ve been thinking about tonight.” “Oh, yeah. Tonight’s your big night. You’re going to see all your litter mates again for the first time since your adoptions.…
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Back to School – Adventures of a Former English Teacher
Forty-five years ago I graduated from college as a freshly minted English teacher-to-be. All I had to do to start teaching was find a job. Back in 1970, teaching jobs were not plentiful, but there were some to be found if you looked hard enough. I decided to look in New England. I guess I…
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