Commonplace

Spiritual Identity

2012-05-16T07:20:00.001-04:00

"You are my beloved on whom my favor rests." The temptations in the desert are temptations to move him [Jesus] away from his spiritual identity. He was tempted to believe he was someone else. I think his whole life is continually claiming his identity in the midst of everything.
— Henri Nouwen

Tolerance and Hate

2012-05-04T07:59:00.001-04:00

"The word "hate" has become one of many such grammatical casualties as some now use it to describe the positions of any who vary from emerging cultural norms. We live in a world that glorifies tolerance. It's ironic that those who often champion this characteristic are quick to abandon it when they encounter people who disagree with their perspectives. Tolerance is a two-way street." - Jonathan Merritt and Tom Willard

2012-05-04T06:38:00.001-04:00

Poetry can’t save us. But it can increase the common good by giving us recourse to what absolute rationality rejects: our imaginations. - Zach Terrell

JFK on Poetry

2012-05-04T06:23:00.001-04:00

When power leads man towards arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the areas of man’s concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of his existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses, for art establishes the basic human truths which must serve as the touchstones of our judgment. The artist, however faithful to his personal vision of reality, becomes the last champion of the individual mind and sensibility against an intrusive society and an officious state.” – JFK

2012-05-02T04:44:00.000-04:00

An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes
that can be made
in a narrow field.
— Niels Bohr

2012-04-28T08:46:00.001-04:00

A poet must leave traces of his passage, not proof.
— Rene Char

2012-04-28T08:40:00.002-04:00

This is the basic idea back of all temptation: God is presented as depriving us by his commands of what is good, so we think we must take matters into our own hands and act contrary to what he has said.
— Dallas Willard

2012-04-23T09:19:00.001-04:00

At the top of memory's

great funnel cloud

is the nib of a pen

- Ted Kooser & Jim Harrison

2012-04-23T09:17:00.001-04:00

fireflies popping in the dark

mini explosions

against the backdrop of night

2012-04-23T09:12:00.001-04:00

Crocuses sneak up
Although it is still cold out
They push out winter

2012-03-29T07:42:00.002-04:00

He shapes me on his wheel
round after round
dizzy but transformed

2012-03-27T05:17:00.000-04:00

Two birds tussle
consumed in their struggle
neither sees the cat

2012-03-15T07:47:00.002-04:00

He has no law and boasts
until under the foot of another
who does

2012-03-13T07:06:00.002-04:00

"Jesus promised those who would follow him only three things . . . that they would be absurdly happy, entirely fearless, and always in trouble."
— Gregg LeVoy

Advice on Reading

2012-03-05T09:48:00.001-05:00

"Best sellers don’t always contain the best thinking. Because of my role and access to the latest books, people ask me frequently, 'Who should I be reading?' I always give the same advice: 'Read dead people. And if they’re not dead they should be close.' If a Christian book written 50 or 500 years ago is still being read today, it’s probably worth reading."
- Ed Dobson

Egrets

2012-03-03T15:12:00.001-05:00

Never egret what you cannot edo.

At the Hospital

2012-03-01T16:18:00.001-05:00

As the nurse raised my bed, she asked if it was more difficult to breathe at the higher elevation. I said, "No, but I do feel a strange need to yodel."

Haiku

2012-02-12T02:02:00.001-05:00

They spend their whole day
on simple things like flying
I am still earthbound

Reading

2012-01-31T06:33:00.001-05:00

"Reading is the nourishment that lets you do interesting work." - Jennifer Egan

Regular reading "primes the pump." It's an old phrase that will probably leave our language soon, because no one goes to a well to pump water any more. I've used a pump a few times. At a park one time there was a pump with a small bucket on a chain. A little sign asked people to make sure and put some water in the bucket before leaving. This would allow them to prime the pump, or prepare the pump, for the next user.

The whole idea behind priming is this: something has to go into the pump before anything will come out. When it comes to reading, regular intake insures an interesting flow. It stirs the creative juices, informs the mind, and expands the capacity of the reader.

Baking Bread

2012-01-31T06:13:00.001-05:00

In the past few days I baked four loaves of French bread, two loaves of German Bauernbrot, a batch of German breakfast rolls, and three regular homemade loaves. Not to mention pizza last night. I like doing it, because it's out of my normal routine, and success or failure is readily apparent. It's very relaxing, therapeutic, and yes . . . fattening.

SOPA and PIPA

2012-01-18T06:29:00.000-05:00

Opposed to SOPA and PIPA.
Who will they try to shut down next?
That is my question.
The internet has been effectively used as a voice for oppressed people.
Once this starts, where will it stop?

Discouragements

2012-01-13T06:52:00.001-05:00

I recently read the biography of Steve Jobs. I thought this was an interesting way of looking at discouragement. "He had a deep well of patience when it came to discouragements."
- Chrisann Brennan

So draw from the well today and move on, my friend.

Reading

2012-01-12T09:08:00.002-05:00

"Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers."
— Harry S. Truman

Doing the Unfamiliar

2011-12-21T06:58:00.001-05:00

"Sometimes we have to do the unfamiliar to obtain the unexpected!" - Rick Godwin

Collective Wisdom

2011-12-18T05:16:00.000-05:00

I do not believe in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance.
—Thomas Carlyle