desert spirit's fire!

Five Minute Friday :: Approve

2026-09-10T22:45:00.000-07:00

• Five Minute Friday :: Approve Linkup

This prompt fits a classic Pauline trope that directs us to the source of grace and the proper place to seek approval:

"Am I now seeking human approval or God's approval? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still pleasing people, I wouldn't be a servant of Christ." Galatians 1:10

Like many others, I can be quite a people pleaser. (And quite the iconoclast.) The reasons are complicated. Part of it is I've worked hard to achieve high levels of skill, and I don't want anyone to question my expertise, especially if they have no knowledge of that field of endeavor.

But doing something in public for the public like a piano performance, a design project, a Sunday sermon, are more distant and almost abstract than some other areas where a person seeks approval.

Consider when someone gives you a job or a task, whether or not it's part of your paid employment, whether or not it's for public consumption—and public approval. When someone tasks you, either you already have a relationship with them, or you may aspire to relate to them or their company. It could be a boss, a client (also a kind of boss because they'll be paying you if all turns out well), a job interviewer asking you to demonstrate your abilities in software X or solve sample problem Y. It could be a spouse or a sibling or another relative. In sum, any time you're doing anything that propels you into approval-seeking mode, it's not simply about you. It's about them, too. And my wanting approval is about a possible fracture in a current relationship, or maybe it's about a new relationship that won't happen if my performance isn't the best ever.

My scripture from Galatians directs us outside of and beyond all those humans whose approval we think we need. It sends us to the source of the gifts, to the Spirit that inspires our actions and our expertise. The Spirit that gathers the community and relates us to the people we believe are worth pleasing. The apostle Paul asks if we want "God's approval." And what does he tell us about pleasing people?

Think about that.

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June Wayne at LACMA

2026-09-09T20:30:00.000-07:00

Looking at LACMA from Wilshire Blvd on Sunday, 29 January 2017

Intro

September 8th being the second Tuesday of the month might mean a visit to LACMA, the internationally renowned art museum whose name is an everyday noun in this town. But I'd already seen the current exhibitions and my two tries at viewing some of the Geffen Gallery that opened last spring had overwhelmed me.

Therefore? Because there were several new things to see at the Getty, that's where I headed. As usual, when my Metro bus got close to Wilshire and Westwood where I'd catch one to Brentwood and beyond (Van Nuys, Sylmar, generic San Fernando Valley), I went to the Getty website to book my arrival time. I always wait because by then I know my ETA within 20 minutes or so. But the Getty was closed for the day! My best guess is because Mondays usually are dark, this week they took Tuesday for maintenance and cleaning because Monday was Labor Day and a federal holiday. I'm excited about next week at the Getty, so stay tuned to this blog.

Therefore? I turned around and headed back to LACMA with a plan to find a wall of ocean-themed lithographs I'd loved my last time at the Geffen Galleries and that for an unknown reason I hadn't even written down the name of the artist. Strange, because I'd made a mental note of their location relative to the elevator and then I left for the day.

After getting off the eastbound Metro bus I booked my LACMA visit, crossed the street to check in, and headed upstairs in the new gallery. it took a while, but I found the ocean art.

June Wayne

What a discovery! June Wayne (1918-2011) is the artist's name, and she achieved near-legendary status in LA. She founded Tamarind Workshop, the first ever for fine art lithography; Citrus Editions, Gemini G.E.I., and Self Help Graphics followed in Tamarind's wake. Tamarind now belongs to the University of New Mexico with the tagline Where lithography lives. You can see some of June's art on Tamarind, and here's her website. You can learn more at her extensive wikipedia and she has an Instagram.

Demented Tidal Wave II, 1972
Lithograph printed by William Law III

Seventh Wave II, 1971
Lithograph printed by David Trowbridge

Tidal Wave, 1974
Lithograph printed by Edward Hamilton

Tidal Wave, 1972
Lithograph printed by William Law III

Black Tidal Wave, 1973
Lithograph printed by John Maggio

White Tidal Wave II, 1972
Lithograph printed by William Law III

Outro

Do you realize (of course you do) we don't try to sample every dish and flavor on any restaurant menu because our appetite and our budgets make it impossible? Whether it's a rock concert or a symphonic feast, linear time limits how much music we take in at once. So why did I imagine needing to sprint through the Geffen Galleries and see almost everything, when I could pick and choose a certain section or era or style or artist?

Five Minute Friday :: Boundary

2026-09-04T21:45:00.000-07:00

• Five Minute Friday :: Boundary Linkup

Intro
Even when their basic polity or governance is local or congregational, mainline church bodies all have denominational judicatories with names like synod, conference, presbytery, district, diocese; one of their functions is to provide oversight and accountability to the local church. My recent experience has been when a judicatory offers boundaries training for pastors and other church leaders, they usually invite everyone with interest in the topic to attend because setting boundaries is a vital aspect of mental wellness.

In any organization or business, when they hear the word "boundaries" people often think sex and money, but those are areas a person knows they're violating if they cross a boundary or border. They're usually aware of even minor transgressions of those boundaries. Sometimes we need to spell out boundaries for other parts of our lives, especially if things have gotten to feel chaotic or unbalanced.

Boundaries
Did you notice Kate's illustration for today is a fence? The American poet Robert Frost told us "good fences make good neighbors" in his Mending Wall.

Everyone needs to be concerned about setting boundaries in relationships with other people, with hobbies and recreational activities, appetites of various kinds, time, social media, and everything else every day. The need for some boundaries can be subtle.

I'm considering essential boundaries for my basic physical well-being. Ideally that happens before exploring those outside myself, but like everyone, I need to begin where I already am. There may be some boundaries it would be wise to modify or change, new ones at least to experiment with. I might plan to:

• Not settle for less sleep than I need to get through the day.
• Do my best to enjoy more fruits and veggies every day. Typically I do that almost without thinking, but where I currently live it's a major challenge I need to get intentional about.
• Stay better hydrated with water.
• Since I don't go to a gym, walk at least one mile at least every other day for the exercise and for the sunlight. Preferably morning, but if it doesn't happen early in the day, don't use that as a reason not to do it at all.

It's not about getting and maintaining a compulsive, unbendable, micro-disciplined schedule. It's about establishing structure and boundaries in sleep, nutrition, and exercise that then can wiggle and bend some to accommodate friends, family, career, volunteer work, social obligations, recreation, and unexpected situations that all typically include other people who sometimes make their own demands I need to consider.

How are you thinking and acting about boundaries these days?

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Port of Los Angeles

2026-09-03T22:30:00.000-07:00

The Port of Los Angeles was my destination for this week's Tuesday day off. More specifically, the area tourists and regular people can visit that's south of the nitty gritty of the 24/7 working container port. Did you know the Port of LA and the Port of Long Beach are twins? And by the way, passenger cruise ships also sail out of the Ports of LA and Long Beach. The eight day Mexican Riviera cruise I took in 2010 was out of Long Beach.

I sort of have a "thing" about container ports, shipping, hauling, and rail transport, and the part all of them play in the supply chain. I follow a dozen container ports on Twitter and I get the Port of Amsterdam's newsletters. One of my best ever long ago memories was trying to stay awake most of the night in a hostel right beside a working section of the Port of Hamburg. It was so exciting and glamorous!

Although I planned Tuesday knowing the battleship Iowa and the Maritime Museum both were closed on Mondays and Tuesdays (I trust this won't be my forever schedule), I'd hoped to take a harbor boat cruise. Advertised at $15 for close to an hour around the bay, it sounded like a don't miss it activity. It turned out they needed to have enough people sign up before they sailed, so I decided not to wait around this time.

I'd gone south to the city of San Pedro that's the skinny strip of land where the Port of LA resides because I believed there was a fancy commercial strip some distance away from the major port activity, but that's another "as it turned out" because it had been razed and they were in the process of building a new, improved, exciting mile long row of shops and restaurants.

Apparently I looked dazed, because a harbor police officer approached me in front of the closed museum and asked if I was lost. Yes, I was! She told me what was going on and said there was a brand new Starbucks about a mile away at the end of the currently empty new development. Close to the end of the promenade, it was a beautiful small store, with a lot of outside seating, so I got my favorite large hazelnut frappuccino with whipped cream.

And on the way – of course on the way back in the opposite direction, too – there were two schooners moored in the water. I looked closely and I knew one of them had to be American Pride, one of my favorites from the Labor Day weekend San Diego annual Festival of Sail. I don't know why seeing her there surprised me; probably because I hadn't remembered American Pride is the official tall ship of the city of Long Beach.

I had to search "two mast schooner beside American Pride in San Pedro" and it was the Swift of Ipswich. Yes! named after the north shore town of Ipswich Massachusetts of fried clams fame.

Despite no museum, cruise, or shopping strip, it was a wonderful day along the bay.

I'm ending with an American Pride trilogy from San Diego Festival of Sail 2013 and 2014. The one on the right is one of my best captures of American Pride in full red sail.

Five Minute Friday :: Here

2026-08-28T16:44:00.000-07:00

• Five Minute Friday :: Here Linkup

1 God is here! As we your people
meet to offer praise and prayer,
may we find in fuller measure
what it is in Christ we share.
Here, as in the world around us,
all our varied skills and arts
wait the coming of your Spirit
into open minds and hearts.

2 Here are symbols to remind us
of our lifelong need of grace;
here are table, font, and pulpit,
here the cross has central place.
Here in honesty of preaching,
here in silence as in speech,
here in newness and renewal
God the Spirit comes to each.

• words by Fred Pratt Green, ©1979, Hope Publishing Co.
• music, Abbot's Leigh, Cyril V Taylor ©1942, renewed ©1970, Hope Publishing Co.

Do you know this hymn? It's one of my favorites to lead from organ or piano and a favorite to sing when someone else leads it well. Do you know the promise of this song? God is here. With references to God's assembled, Spirit-filled people and God's presence in the sacraments, in scripture, and in preaching, it's especially appropriate as the gathering song for worship.

Scripture tells us Jesus Christ ascended to the right hand of God. [Mark 16:19] As Martin Luther explains, God's right hand, God's sovereignty, is everywhere, therefore Christ is present not simply right here, but everywhere—though in a special way "for you, for me, for each of us" [1 corinthians 11:24] in the Savior's particular presence in the Lord's Supper.

We start and continue worship aware of God's presence here within the gathered assembly. Does that remind us to look for God elsewhere, because if God is here in this place, God may be there in our next here, in every right "here" where we find ourselves and others find us?

Do you remember the promise of God's life in us here in the world?

On the day of Pentecost the gathered people received the indwelling Spirit of Life [Acts 2:1-18]. Because at baptism each of us receives the Spirit, in our daily walk in the world we are the Body of the Crucified and Risen Christ here on earth. [1 Corinthians 3:16]

Being in God's presence during worship is an important "here" place to be, but in many ways it's a model, a rehearsal, and a reminder that God is right here – and right now – wherever we are.

What places are your favorite heres? # # #

Five Minute Friday :: Half

2026-08-20T22:45:00.000-07:00

• Five Minute Friday :: Half Linkup

The song "It's Getting Better" by the late Cass Elliot is about a love match, but it can be true of any aspect of life:

Once I believed that when love came to me
It would come with rockets, bells and poetry
But with me and you it just started quietly and grew
And it's not hard to see
That it isn't half of what it's going to turn out to be

Sometimes grief and loss and unmet expectations overwhelm me. Does that happen to you? But I love love love mornings! The morning light, breakfast with berries that doesn't happen year round but this is summer, and an imagination-fueled prospectus of what the day may hold – even when it's a routine everyday – gets me smiling. Isn't it about grace, surprise, serendipity and unexpected joys?

If you know me at all you know I love summer. Sunshine, warmth, city sidewalks, urban beaches, and ocean breezes. But maybe even better, if summer's here, my major new year is on the way—check out my opening image.

I've written about my several new years:

• The first Sunday of Advent
• January 1 of a new calendar year
• My late January birthday

all of which make solid opportunities for new starts. But probably like many others, late summer is my main new year, my primary new beginning. Memories of a new academic year ranging from kindergarten through a series of graduate and professional schools energize my hope; there's nothing halfway like it.

Schools around here began again on Wednesday, August 12. Something about that date doesn't feel half as exciting and fulfilling as when I was coming up and school started the Thursday after Labor Day.

I opened with a song about human expectations that romantic love will arrive with bells, whistles, and songs (sometimes it does), along with the reality that love in any kind of relationship frequently sneaks up on both persons and almost imperceptibly becomes deeper, wider, and stronger. When you look back you can see all the increments along the way, including the halfway mark.

The morning of every day. The dawn of a new school year (how poetic of me). Don't all of those start less than halfway and grow into more than we ever thought could be?

Did you know:
"In order to be considered half as good
a woman must be twice as good.
Luckily that is not difficult."
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https://whatsyourgrief.com/grieving-an-online-friend-cybergrief/

Natural History Museum :: Butterflies + Orcas

2026-08-20T18:00:00.000-07:00

Ads for the Butterfly Pavilion at the Natural History Museum kept popping up online and all over town. For a while Tuesdays were the museum's day off, which meant I couldn't go there on my Tuesday day off. With summer the schedule switched, so two special exhibits at the NHM became my museum visit of the week.

Such serendipity because the Butterflies close this coming Sunday! As the poster announcement explains, visitors got 30 minutes with the lovely insects. The enclosure was extravagantly planted to attract and feed the twenty-some butterfly varieties in all life stages. Although there was no formal commentary, several staff members were there to answer questions.

After the Butterflies I ventured into Orcas: Our Shared Future; it was visually beautiful and scientifically detailed. For me the expressive orca-influenced art was the highlight. Most of the art was by indigenous artists – Pacific Northwest Coast First Nation peoples – and I didn't try for more than a few impressions. I also avoided displays that had a violence warning label.

Five Minute Friday :: Disrupt

2026-08-13T21:45:00.000-07:00

Monday at Vacation Bible School 2014
ready to collect backpacks
for Community Christian Service Center's
annual back to school initiative.

• Five Minute Friday :: Disrupt Linkup

Kate's story intrigued me and because it was familiar, I decided to piggyback on it!

Intro:

When I still was in Previous City, the place I was living needed mold remediation. In their process the contractors decided to disrupt my bedroom instead of my landlady/housemate's art studio per her request, which created awkward entry and exit from my room. (Her studio was bedroom 3 in a 3 bedroom house).

Part 1:

For the mold exit week, we found a hotel with a good deal for pets, so we took P's small dog and my two cats there. It meant two humans and three pets in a regular size hotel room. And you know what? That disruption for everyone worked out fine for all of us.

It was August and Vacation Bible School week; with the church some distance away from the hotel because of our pet-related lodging needs, every morning I traveled to VBS during rush hour. That trip was a relatively minor change or disruption from when I lived around the corner from the church and could walk there in less than five minutes, but the less familiar scenery energized me—maybe by disrupting my usual expectations and routines?

Part 2:

Because getting the mold out meant a major structural disruption of ripping out a wall, my friend decided it would be a perfect time to update the second floor bathroom that had some mostly age-related concerns and that – like at Kate's house – was the only full bath.

Back in the Tierrasanta/ Holy Land neighborhood the week after our hotel stay that also was the week after VBS, since the mold people had left, the bathroom contractors were able to start. Did I mention it was August?

Because August is hot in Southern California, one (you, me, any person) had best not skimp on showers. So? We arranged with two different neighbors to shower at their house. Two households so as not to disrupt only one every day.

Outro:

You may be expecting to hear about another disruption, but the new bathroom with a working shower finally happened, so that's the end of this week's Five Minute Friday.

Since then the church's senior pastor has retired, his kids now are adults, and the church has a new fellowship hall. Since then I've moved north to Los Angeles.

I've enjoyed reminiscing because it showed me what might be possible again. And now? It likely will take a few more disruptions before my days are full again. Thanks for reading!

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Five Minute Friday :: Shift

2026-08-06T22:00:00.000-07:00

If anyone has the world's goods
and sees his brother in need
yet closes his heart against him
how does God's love abide in him?
1 john 3:17
• Five Minute Friday :: Shift Linkup

My first impulse was shifting from one musical mode or key to another, shifting gears in a vehicle (did you know I loathe, despise, and abhor automatic transmissions?), changing styles, switching activities, changing your mind about something, an attitude shift. Then I read Kate's blog about work shifts! Of course! Although unlike her son, I've never worked third shift, in a past life I knew someone (RIP) who had. He explained a special kind of person loves third shift, often for all their lives.

To continue the employment topic, I can tell you working second shift isn't nearly as bad as I'd imagined. Without a doubt it's partly my gratitude for a job, almost any job, and for the most part I like the job. My fave work schedule is odd irregular days, preferably with a couple of split shifts during the week (unusual, I know). If work needs to be Monday through Friday days, 7 to 3 fits best, though in real life I've worked those hours only two separate summers.

When I was a lot younger I worked five jobs seven days a week and loved it; I'd like to figure out something like that again. Because some of those jobs had fluid hours, I averaged 35 to 40 hours each week, almost never more than 45. That was so good because I had large chunks of time off most days.

Having said that, shifting from one job to another might be on the horizon for some of us. What does a major shift like that entail?

My header art asks how God's love can abide in someone who doesn't love their sister or brother? God's love wants to abide, to make a home – an abode – in us.

We have passed out of death to life because we love the brothers and sisters. Whoever does not love abides in death. 1 John 3:14

The Greek means to pass over, to change, to depart, to move. Death to life is a very big shift! # # #

July 2026

2026-07-31T22:50:00.000-07:00

If you've been following this blog or my days in general, you probably know my current between lives work situation gives me one day off each week, so I do my best to make Tuesdays interesting and momentous with an activity like a museum visit. Here's the rundown for July.

• Tuesday 07 July

This didn't count as momentous, but I enjoyed hanging out at the Century City Mall. In an unusual configuration, you enter from the Santa Monica Boulevard sidewalk (there's also an attached parkade), and once you're inside the mall two floors of shops, department stores, and eateries open up.

Unlike many shopping centers, this one is alive, well, and a cool place to chill. It's larger and not as upscale as The Grove, and it's slightly less plebeian than shopping centers like Culver City that's also a Westfield. The LA Westside neighborhood of Century City claims pride of place in between the municipality of Beverly Hills and the Westwood hood where UCLA resides.

Because there was a Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf I had to have a hazelnut frappe; did you know CB&TL does hazelnut much better than anywhere else?

With Subway's current meal of the day rotation featuring Tuna on Tuesdays, you know what I got.

• Tuesday14 July

• Village Square at LACMA.

• Tuesday 21 July

• Getty Center again because they had some new exhibits I intended to view, but instead of visiting them I sat around various spots inside and out and took some pictures.

• Tuesday 28 July

Again this time, I didn't write a separate blog for the last Tuesday of the month. I went back to the Getty and into the Research Institute building where I visited Lost, Found, Returned about the provenance of a particular drawing and Stendahl's World—Marketing Ancient Mexico and Modern Art in Los Angeles. I'd seen the word "provenance" before, but I didn't know the meaning. Provenance is where something originates (pro+venire=comes from), along with its journey if it has one beyond place of birth. In many ways tracing provenance is like tracking the title trail for a real property—especially legal aspects of both.

I don't link to the exhibitions on museum websites because they'll be gone as soon as the art in question is gone, but I strongly encourage you to check out Earl L. Stendahl's acquisitions, exhibitions, and sales, particularly when he got into Mesoamerican art and artifacts that became a trend and a status symbol. Everything wasn't genuine, and he left devastation behind at the excavation sites.

Wikipedia says, "He sold Mexican and Central American antiquities that were often stolen, looted, or assembled from disparate fragments. Often sold to Hollywood collectors, to museums, and even department stores." To think it happened during the century we just left!

Five Minute Friday :: Afford

2026-07-30T22:15:00.000-07:00

• Five Minute Friday :: Afford Linkup

It feels as if everyone except the ultra-affluent is mired in an affordability crisis. Cities like New York, London, and San Francisco aside, who can afford housing, transportation, groceries, almost anywhere? Can anyone afford an out of town vacation? To quit their job and take time to find another that in the long run will be a better fit and pay more? Can you afford to start your own business? What kind of entertainment can you afford?

With more and more conventional goods becoming luxuries, what now?

Most of us who write to these prompts knew life in the previous century. Even if we started using technology early on, most Five Minute Friday writers aren't digital natives. Can you sense where I'm headed? Maybe you're already there?!

Step back a couple of decades to a backyard garden. Rent a community garden plot. Check out the farmer's market or a sidewalk vendor. Their fare may be more affordable, it's probably fresher, and you can benefit the nearby economy. Besides, can you really afford to pay Big Ag and all the supply chain intermediaries?

Step back from streaming and try hard to remember days of board games and analog puzzles together. Preparing dinner together. How's your memory? Try to recapture some of the free or inexpensive entertainment that probably included conversation and a major bonus of getting to know each other better.

What shape does your everyday take? Can you afford your current arrangement? It would be surprising to find someone who hasn't considered those concerns.

Whatever the economy does, laying the foundation of the days, the weeks, the future hopes, how about following the admonition of scripture to…

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ has forgiven you. Ephesians 4:32

Can you afford forgiveness? How can we not afford to forgive? Please remember: it's aways possible to forgive, yet sometimes it's impossible and/or unwise to reconcile.

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Five Minute Friday :: Phase

2026-07-23T23:00:00.000-07:00

• Five Minute Friday :: Phase Linkup

We go through short phases and longer ones. Kate wrote about being a little kid as a phase in their lives and in a parent's life. Sometimes we decide it's time to phase out a certain behavior or activity. Sometimes we don't know we're in a particular phase until it's over. Does something else take its place? Sometimes. Does its exit leave an empty space? Sometimes. But every time-limited aspect of life isn't necessarily a phase, is it?

Today I'm thinking about the years I spent in the Intermountain West. I lived along the Wasatch front, but with Utah being such a beautiful state, I took day trips and half-day excursions to other locations. But I regret that I took next to zero photographs. How could that be? I was going through a phase of grief and loss but without anyone to admit it to, lacking someone else to acknowledge it, taking pictures didn't even occur to me.

And the times I spent in Boston. Although I was born in the deep south, I grew up in Boston in a family that was Midwestern and Southern. That first phase was long, with friends, schools, many activities, and plans for a future of service and participation.

My second Boston-Cambridge sojourn featured another phase of professional school—some would call it "grad school," but I reserve that expression for high-end academic programs and not so much for something like an MSW, MDiv or others with practical career content, even though they all include some heavy-duty academics.

My third Massachusetts layover was Boston and Cape Cod. Someday I might even write about that important phase.

All of those are long phases defined by a particular geography, and inside that longitude and latitude, defined by what I did and by what happened to me.

What kinds and lengths of phases has your life had?

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Getty Tuesday

2026-07-23T22:30:00.000-07:00

This past Tuesday was the Getty Center again because they'd opened new exhibitions since my last time there. Although I did go to the Getty, I didn't visit any galleries. I had a pleasant time just being in those beautiful surroundings. Here are google photos collages of some of the pictures I took. Group one and group three have the same view in the same position, but that's fine because it's a really good shot. Since I was slow getting going, I had Tuna Tuesday lunch beforehand at the Subway on Westwood Blvd near Wilshire Blvd.

Most weekends I wonder what I'll do on my day off. I already know what I'll do on July 28th: back to the Getty and into the galleries I missed this past Tuesday.

Five Minute Friday :: Route

2026-07-16T21:45:00.000-07:00

Downtown Los Angeles in May
• Five Minute Friday :: Route Linkup

In my footer pics you can see one of my takes on the sign at the very end of Route 66 at the Santa Monica Pier. My church sits along Route 66; second pic is the sign on the building accented with a couple of cables. It's always a joy when the sun comes up on the Santa Monica Boulevard along Route 66 and we're there to gather around Word and Sacrament. Again. And next week, too.

What can I say about a route, a path, a road? The road home, or the road to the cross? The route that intersects with another every time I venture east or west or almost anywhere?

I'm writing about a route and routes on Thursday 16 July. It's the middle day of July, it's this blog's twenty-fourth blogoversary, and I'm still working through an anniversary post that I'll pre-date when I finish.

My header provides a hint of what my intended route has been all along. Only a hint, because my passion for cities and The City includes downtown with its skyscrapers, mid-city, the CBD, the edges, the margins, the central city, and the not yet imagined.

How does a person discern their path or route? Gifts, passions, opportunities. Circumstances, too, as a subset of opportunities. My chosen route felt so logical. The way opportunities and circumstances came together, I knew God was choosing the city for me, and awaiting my response and participation. What happened?

Did an alternate route slowly or suddenly appear? No. Did I uncover an old interest and try to revive it? No. Did I change my mind about cities and The City and decide to sit things out? No.

Or did the city start happening and then continue with sometimes clear, sometimes imperceptible twists, turns, detours, and dead ends? Not that I've noticed. Did I take a different route home? No. I didn't and I haven't yet.

What personality and path has your route or routes taken?

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LACMA :: Village Square

2026-07-15T21:56:00.000-07:00

Originally I'd planned to explore more of the new David Geffen Galleries for the second Tuesday in July, but memories of my first and only time there in April overwhelmed me. I hadn't been able to figure out or appreciate the layout and arrangement and this week I didn't have enough energy to try again.

There were exhibits in the Resnick Pavilion I hadn't really seen, so this time I focused on Village Square that opened February 22 and closes July 19. The description won't always be on the LACMA website; here's what it's about:

"Village Square brings together nearly 50 paintings, sculptures, and works on paper from the Henry and Rose Pearlman Collection in a celebration of art and community. The exhibition showcases expressive landscapes and striking portraits by Cézanne, Degas, Manet, Modigliani, Sisley, Soutine, Toulouse-Lautrec, and others. Many of these bold, dynamic works grew out of close friendships among artists, and on occasion with Henry Pearlman himself. Village Square honors the Pearlmans' belief in art's power to create shared experiences and foster connections.

"This is the final opportunity to see the collection before it is gifted to museums across the country; six important works will remain at LACMA, strengthening its modern and impressionist holdings.

"This exhibition was co-organized by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Brooklyn Museum."

• Paul Cézanne, Cistern in the Park of Chateau Noir, c. 1900

• Chaim Soutine, Path to the Fountain, c.1920

• Chaim Soutine, Steeple of Saint-Pierre at Céret, c.1922

• Paul Cézanne, Mount Sainte-Victoire, c. 1904-06

• Paul Cézanne, Provençal Manor, c.1885

• PIerre-August Renoir, Nude in a Landscape, c.1887

• Camille Pissarro, Still Life: Apples and Pears in a Round Basket, 1872

• Paul Cézanne, Route to Le Tholonet, 1900-1904

• Paul Cézanne, House in Provence, c. 1890-94

• Maurice Utrillo, The White House c. 1937

• Oskar Kokoschka, Henry Pearlman, 1948

• Alfred Sisley, River View, 1889

Five Minute Friday :: Short

2026-07-10T23:30:00.000-07:00

Owe no one anything, except to love one another,
for any one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
Romans 13:8
• Five Minute Friday :: Short Linkup

Buy short; sell long. Today I'm short on cash. Again. The short end of the deal.

Everyday.

Why do so many aspects of life keep coming up short? Not enough legal tender. Not enough human tenderness. The larder and the pantry lack. No rain for forty days and forty nights. Then nothing but rain with no sun for forty days and…

Knowing all that to be the case, what can we say about living in grace?

Maybe especially when we study the apostle Paul's theology, we contrast law and gospel.

Scripture reveals a world where we don't come up short, but one filled with abundance. The Hebrew scriptures particularly emphasize God's way as one of shalom, a peace that's far more than the absence of conflict. Shalom is wholeness, justice, goodness, bounty, and commonwealth. When we love one another we create shalom for the long run.

Shalom is integrity and honesty with each other. Shalom is the gospel lived out wherever we go. Shalom never runs short; it's the fullness of everything we need.

In the Acts of the Apostles we learn the newly birthed church born of Spirit, water, and Word, made sure everyone had enough, no one came up short on essentials. What can we say about living in grace?

"Owe no one anything, except to love one another, for any one who loves another has fulfilled the law." Romans 13:8

"Happy are the Shalom-makers, for they will be called children of heaven." Matthew 5:9

They'll be called children of heaven because when they practice shalom, no one comes up short. Everyone has enough. That is good news. That's gospel!

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Five Minute Friday :: Outcome

2026-07-02T22:45:00.000-07:00

• Five Minute Friday :: Outcome Linkup

Soccer and the World Cup isn't one of my preoccupations, but I love Major League Baseball (MLB); I've been known to get excited and despondent during the post-season. My first ever MLB game was at the old Tiger Stadium after I'd taken my first solo flight as a passenger. I was in grade 7 or 8. I've noticed parents and kids often make things complicated when a kid or a teen flies unaccompanied, but I went to Boston-Logan, got on the plane, flew to Detroit-Metro, got off the plane. No big deal, but that may have been because I'd been riding city buses and subways alone forever.

Fenway Park by Chris Devers, 2004
Although back then I had next to zero knowledge of the game, in retrospect the Tigers game with an opponent I don't remember was a watershed. A couple years later during high school the Boston Red Sox and Fenway Park started to become part of the narrative of my life. Later on when I served an inner city Boston church, senior pastor was able to get Red Sox tickets almost on a whim, and I went to many games that way. A few times I drove youth group kids to Fenway in the church van; other times we traveled there on the subway. For sure I considered myself On The Clock whenever I took on that responsibility.

Today's word is outcome. "I often remind myself" the best way to predict the future is to create it; that's what I knew I was doing with a series of schools, skills, and experiences. As of now, the outcome is far from the minimum I'd anticipated. But God's promises and God's faithfulness are outside of time as we humans measure time. Can I trust God for the outcome of all those years of preparation and expectation?

There's spring training and there's the fall post-season, but I love that baseball is mostly an icon of summer. Although baseball is country, suburban, and everywhere, there's something particularly urban about it, and cities are my jam. Did I already mention Detroit and Boston?

I love baseball's leisurely pace as if clocks and watches don't exist. I love that baseball is an American invention. I love those memories of Fenway Park. I love watching stellar defense and crazy offense. Baseball majorly qualifies as one of my major Life Stuff topics. As I wonder about hopes, dreams, and disappointments, "I often remind myself" baseball is a perfect model for life.

The outcome? You win some; you lose some. Tomorrow is another day, another game, another outcome.
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June 2026

2026-06-30T22:00:00.000-07:00

• O Flying Butterfly… by Stanton MacDonald-Wright at LACMA
• Flowers at Wilshire Blvd and Westwood Blvd in Westwood
• Grand Park sign
• Detail from Female Figure by Roy Lichtenstein at the Broad

• Here's a chronicle of mostly Tuesdays, one Thursday, and a single solitary Sunday.

• Tuesday June 2nd was California voting with a very long ballot.

• Tuesday June 2nd at the Skirball Cultural Center, I missed the Comic Book Exhibit they included with admission, so I'll enjoy it next time and also spring for a ticket to Noah's Ark.

• On Sunday June 7th I preached for Pentecost 2A; Matthew's lectionary year continues.

• Tuesday June 9th was LACMA again because it's always a great way to enjoy second Tuesdays.

• No museum or other cultural outing for Tuesday June 16th, but I got a couple of necessities plus a few other things at the Inglewood Century Shopping Sprawl after a Butterscotch Frosty Sundae at Wendy's.

• Because the World Cup partly happened in LA, my Five Minute Friday on Thursday June 18th had to be about Korea and Mexico.

• June 23rd, the month's 4th Tuesday, featured lunch in Santa Monica followed by a short trip to the Westfield Culver City Mall.

• On the 5th Tuesday, June 30th, I visited The Broad Museum and Gloria Molina Grand Park.

• Tuesday June 30th was the release date for Brian Drinkwine's book, Kingdom Over Empire: Recovering the Gospel from Political Captivity. Due to serendipitously noticing Brian's launch team invitation on Facebook, I received an ARC. My amazon review is forthcoming and will have about two-thirds of my blog content.

Broad Museum + Gloria Molina Grand Park

2026-06-30T21:50:00.000-07:00

• The Broad Museum

• Roy Lichtenstein, "Coup de Chapeau II," 1996

• Roy Lichtenstein, "Female Figure," 1979

• Roy Lichtenstein, "Perfection Painting" (detail), 1986

• Mark Bradford, "Deep Blue," 2018

• Edward Ruscha, "Gilded, Marbled, and Foibled" (detail), 2011-2012

• Andreas Gursky, "Kuwait Stock Exchange II," 2008

• Hank Willis Thomas, born 1976, "We shall not be moved," 2022

• David Hammona, born 1943, "African-American flag," 1990

• Jeff Koons, born 1955, "Party Hat," 1995-7

• On the way to Grand Park:

• Succulents

• LAPhil Store

• Skyscraper

• Gloria Molina Grand Park

• I neglected to get picture of the abundant bright pink seating, though I have some from previous years. Next time, I trust.

Brian Drinkwine :: Kingdom Over Empire

2026-06-27T19:30:00.000-07:00

• The release date for Kingdom Over Empire is Tuesday 30 June. If this overview entices you to get the book, it would be best if you wait until the morning of June 30th.

• Kingdom Over Empire: Recovering the Gospel from Political Captivity by Brian Drinkwine on Amazon

• Brian's Website

Page numbers are from the ARC PDF and are not the same in the print copy.

Poetic, pastoral, and probing, Kingdom Over Empire provides scripture and history to help you sort out your allegiances. Pastor Brian Drinkwine doesn't advise is. He trusts us. I need this book! Whether you live in a Western-style democracy or elsewhere, you need this book!

Kingdom Over Empire. Particularly in politically blue circles in the USA, one major reaction to goings-on in the current presidential administration has been an active, vocal No Kings movement. The general idea is American colonials broke away from royal rule and chose elected leadership rather than hereditary monarchies, and we continue on that path.

Related to not having kings, in protestant mainline churches, especially some individuals in so-called professional leadership in local churches or judicatories have come close to conflating deep blue politics and progressive Christianity. Though I've hovered on the edge, I haven't quite gone there. Brian's book shows us what a Yes Kings affirmation is when the King is Lord of the Universe, Lord of Life Jesus Christ.

I plan to take seriously assessing how outside forces and influences have affected our (my) perspectives and our (my) fears. That's called formation as in the shape, the traits, instincts, love, convictions, assumptions that intrinsically are part of us—that motivate us, too.

And what we are willing to excuse! Brian offers us "companionship from nearby" because according to one of his blockquotes, You do not need a movement. You need companions.

Two critical definitions:

page 33: "Patriotism is love of place without allegiance to place." It's "grateful stewardship of the land, people, and institutions where God has planted us … At its best, it seeks the welfare of the city."

page 34: "Nationalism happens when love of country becomes something it was never meant to be. Nationalism is what happens when patriotism crosses the line from stewardship to identity."

In the church we casually talk about belief, which too many equate with intellectual assent. But first century pistis belief is allegiance, loyalty, trust; it's a whole body-essence of your being posture. [page 44]

Although it's political, social, and economic, in its essence empire is a way of organizing power over time. You likely can list biblical empires such as Egypt, Babylon, Persia, Rome; you can add in more recent Spanish, British and others. But educational, ecclesiastical, consumer, and other entities also operate in an imperial manner because Babylon/empire is pattern rather than place. It is out there. It is in here. Think about it!

Brian provides a short list of lifestyles and religions you could call Christian Pretenders because they're not the good news Mark, the earliest gospel announces to open his proclamation. They aren't Theology of the Cross; many are theology of glory that humans find appealing and humanly doable.

For the Apostle Paul, the gospel is death and resurrection. In Kingdom Over Empire, the author traces the subversive power of the cross and God's faithful actions that paradoxically create new life out of death.

Brian beautifully reminds us Jesus came announcing, "Not a kingdom built on dominance, but on restoration. Not a kingdom advanced by force, but by faithfulness. Not a kingdom that secures itself through control, but one that grows through surrender."

"In this kingdom, blessing begins with the honest recognition of need. The poor are lifted up. The imprisoned are set free. Those far from God are not threats to be managed but treasures hidden in a field. …This kingdom promises not control, but resurrection." [page 84]

"Writing to a church confused about what faithfulness meant, Paul does not appeal to their influence or their success. He appeals to the resurrection."

“But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20).

"Firstfruits. The first sign of a harvest that is coming, proof that more is on the way. If Jesus has been raised, then death does not have the final word. And if death does not have the final word, then neither does empire. Neither does failure. Neither does obscurity." [page 162]

Short summary:

"The call is not to disengage from society but to disentangle from idolatry. You can vote without making the vote your hope. You can advocate without making advocacy your salvation. You can be present in the public square without giving the public square the allegiance that belongs to Christ.

"The call is an echo of the Exodus. It is a summons to live as exiles—in the empire but not of it.

"This does not mean we abandon society. It means we refuse to be seduced by its idols. We resist its economy, its nationalism, its violence, its counterfeit hopes.

"We live as if Jesus is King, because he is. And we hold loosely to everything Babylon promises, knowing that it will not last." [page 178]

Kingdom Over Empire is a workbook. It's devotional. It's heavy-duty theology. It offers a direction for us to travel together in order to restore life and hope to a world dominated by empires. Throughout the book, Pastor Brian offers his own testimony. Will your life testify of a King who reigns from a cross?

Disclaimer: As a member of the launch team I received an Advance Reader Copy with no expectation or obligation to write a positive review. As always, my opinions are my own (and you know I wouldn't have it any other way).

Five Minute Friday :: Pivot

2026-06-25T22:15:00.000-07:00

North Hollywood California Coffee Shop
• Five Minute Friday :: Pivot Linkup

I love the skateboard illustration!

Kate wrote about her son's summer job not happening, after all. How many of us have had that exact experience? Maybe a related one or two or three? That's the ongoing employment and housing story for too many of us over the past decade. At least for the short term, he's been able to pivot into some other activities while he waits to hear from his other job apps.

Recently I've gotten reflective as I've evaluated my behaviors over the years. When life and expectations have disappointed me, Instead of pivoting into a new direction, I've kept going in the same one, chasing after activities and opportunities related to my sense of call that still won't quit. But honestly? Keepin' on keepin' on often is the name of the game in any case.

My life got smaller and emptier. Not simpler. I'd lost people, routines, reasons to get out of bed every morning. My world had become silent and still. I may have lost (I had lost) the days I expected would continue, but I still kept getting up in the morning and pretending. I kept hoping… you know about living "as if?!" Practicing resurrection?

I've even tried to rebuild the last place, that last time my world made sense. Would that count as pivoting away from the status quo? Paradoxically(?) I don't know the time or date or place.

How can I find life with pulse and rhythm again? "Meaning and purpose keep you sane" isn't simply a truism. I long for, I need messy noisy healing chaotic again. And then?

# # #

Five Minute Friday :: Vibe

2026-06-18T21:30:00.000-07:00

• Five Minute Friday Vibe :: Linkup

As someone who's never watched a soccer match – or an American football game – I still had to experience the vibe I could hear from outside, so a few minutes ago I came back from a stroll to observe and to feel some other Los Angeles denizens alive with the vibe of South Korea vs Mexico in World Cup 2026.

In my current "between lives" circumstances, I live and work in the Koreatown community of LA. Many of my neighbors citywide (and this city rocks a very wide swath) are Mexican immigrants or otherwise ethnic Mexican, to such an extent most signage everywhere is bilingual.

A few years back as I reminisced with a now former friend I'd met when we both lived in the same Koreatown hostel, she observed, "Koreatown has a nice vibe." Although maybe the part of Koreatown on the other side of Wilshire where we first met does, I'm not sure about this south of Wilshire section. But today's World Cup vibe isn't "nice" or tame—it's competitive yet neighborly yet still wanting my side to win.

But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, Jesus Christ.
Philippians 3:20

There is no longer Jew or Greek;
there is no longer slave or free;
there is no longer male and female,
for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 3:28

And yes, Thomas Friedman! Because the world keeps getting flatter every day, why would we want to emphasize our own tribe, our own ethnicity, culture, or brand? Maybe because it has so much to offer the world, just as your tribe, your perspective, your ways of being could enhance my world and broaden my vision. And let's all celebrate and live into the reality that the ground is level at the foot of the cross.

As I'm finishing this FMF, I can feel the roaring crowd that's gone way beyond a chill vibe. Mexico won! Enjoy the moment!

What's your vibe today?

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Five Minute Friday :: Part

2026-06-11T22:30:00.000-07:00

• Five Minute Friday :: Part Linkup

When we (you, me, anyone) uses a word that has multiple meanings, it's important to place it unambiguously in context.

There's part the noun; part the verb; partly the adverb.

Knowing in part, partly finished, part of a laundry or moving load (as in the picture Kate provided); parting a barrier such as the red sea or a midwestern storm to help you get through; parting or separating from a person and leaving them behind; ending a commitment and parting from a job or a relationship. Parting the good part of a fruit or veggie from the part you can't use.

Our host Kate concluded her testimony about God parting the waters for her by asking:

Where have you seen God's goodness and provision this week?

Five Minute Friday :: Part

• God is good. All the time.
• All the time. God is good.

⁹ For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
¹⁰ But when that which is perfect is come,
then that which is in part shall be done away.
¹² For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face:
now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
1 Corinthians 13

Where have I seen God's goodness and provision this past week?

"Help me, Jesus. I'm shaking like a leaf.
You've been my king of glory;
won't you be my prince of peace?"

Rich Mullins, Hold Me, Jesus

Last Sunday I had another guest preaching gig. Typically I have some anticipatory excitement beforehand— just enough positive anxiety to make my presentation sing and ring. Last weekend was different. It was the type of anxious that interferes with breathing, thinking, and walking. Some of it was my feeling I hadn't been able to figure out a smooth transition between the scripture text and a possible application.

But as soon as I stood up and looked out at the assembly, I knew it would be fine because God is good, all the time. My high anxiety had simmered down to excitement. And I had prepared! From the feedback I got, I know everything went well, after all. All the time; God is good!

Related to your last Sunday morning or to mine, to the days ahead, to the road each of us will walk, knowing we can't see everything and have little clue – let alone solid knowledge – about where all the moving parts of our life and world are headed is a big comfort. In his famous letter to the church at Corinth, the apostle Paul was both philosophical and practical in his observations about our finite perspective.

The God who parts the waters, the Savior who stills storms with a word wants to quiet our anxieties! Whether you're driving through bad weather, wondering about the job interview or school application or everyday finances and logistics; concerned about your littles, teens, or grands; getting ready to teach or preach God's Word with the responsibility that entails, Jesus wants to be your Prince of Peace. Let him be. God is good—not part of the time. God is good all the time!! Amen? Amen!

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Another Second Tuesday at LACMA

2026-06-09T20:59:00.000-07:00

• Chris Burden, Metropolis

• Mark Bradford, born 1961, United States
• 150 Portrait Tone, 2017

• Block Shop Textiles, design house
• Woodblock Proof Prints, 2015
• Designed by Hopie Hill, with Ainslee McAndrew

• Enlarged detail

• Stanton MacDonald-Wright, United States, 1890-1973

• From the Haiga Portfolio, 1966-67

• Departing Spring Hesitates in the Late Cherry Blossoms
• Demons Sowing Barley in the Long Rays of Sunset
• O Flying Butterfly, I Feel Myself a Creature of Dust
• A Cloud of Cherry Blossoms: A Temple Bell—Is It from Ueno?

• Zarina, India, 1937-2020, active United States
• Untitled, 1970

• Floor tiles!

• Paul Poiret, France, 1879-1914
• Textile Length, c. 1920

• Greek chicken and salad lunch - tea - dinner - late afternoon meal

Skirball Cultural Center

2026-06-08T22:00:00.000-07:00

For my June 2nd Tuesday day off I visted the Skirball Cultural Center for the first time since Before Covid.

Last Tuesday was election day in California; of course I voted blue. I'll include pics in my month end rundown.

"Guided by Jewish tradition and inspired by American democratic ideals, the Skirball welcomes people of all communities and generations to participate in cultural experiences that celebrate discovery and hope, foster human connections, and call upon us to help build a more just society."

To my distress I missed Inventing America: The Comic Book Revolution, but it's on view through 28 February 2027 so I'll catch it when a new exhibit opens. I'll also be sure to have $$ for Noah's Ark.

The late Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel referred to Shabbat as a Palace in Time. The room was filled with paintings by Robert Russell and Lisa Edelstein that at first looked like photographs.

Outsiders, Outcasts, Rebels + Weirdos celebrates everything about punk.

The book store and gift shop, of course!

Welcome signs on the 405