lenten journal
Dance. If Ginger were writing this blog post tonight with this word in mind, I can guarantee it would have a completely different feel and would involve “Uptown Funk” in some way. What’s really played in the record player of my mind for a couple of days are waltzes,
lenten journal
Passageway. I was one of the words that showed up when I crowd-sourced my Lenten Lexicon. Tonight I figured out why. My plans for the evening have been laid out for a week: cook and watch basketball. I’ve been looking forward to it. I was flipping back and forth
lenten journal
we gathered for dinner on this penultimate thursday because this is the night that we eat dinner together for no other reason than we eat dinner together. fourteen around the table— a couple more than were there the night Jesus broke the bread, poured the wine and spilt his love
lenten journal
rush hour was a contradiction this afternoon—I could see the stalled cars for what looked like miles in front of me, so I dove for the exit and the open spaces. I saved no time, but I did keep moving, winding down Durham roads I rarely travel; my daily
lenten journal
Saturday when I arrived at work I met one of my colleagues who was wearing a t-shirt that said, “Stories Matter.” Naturally, I wanted to know the story behind the shirt. He told me it was for something called the 12x12 Initiative that is a twelve week road trip across
lenten journal
Ordinary. Look it up and you will see the dictionary doesn’t deal with the word too kindly: of no special quality or interest; commonplace; unexceptional; plain or undistinguished; somewhat inferior or below average; mediocre; customary; usual; normal. And yet, I’m happy to report today was an ordinary day—
lenten journal
One of the people who has mentored me through her writing over many, many years is Madeleine L’Engle, going all the way back to Ms. Reedy at the Lusaka International School reading A Wrinkle in Time to us at the end of the day if we finished our work.
lenten journal
“As we dedicate ourselves to one another, and thus experience daily and directly the diverse array of gifts that contribute to our living, gratitude will take its rightful place as the fundamental disposition that guides and forms our ways.” — P. Travis Kroeker “Communities of care are sustained by rituals of
lenten journal
My friend Claudia is an artist and graphic designer here in town. We get together about once a month for lunch. Besides just hanging out and catching up, she brings some sort of drawing and I bring a poem and we swap them with each other. The idea is then
lenten journal
It’s not hard to find pain around us. I can name several friends who have marked the anniversary of a parent’s death, some who are facing difficult decisions about their jobs, others dealing with illnesses and uncertain outcomes. That just skims the surface. Pain is common currency, along
lenten journal
the words are falling out in twos and threes tonight . . . a trickle of thought and thankfulness trying to keep a promise: I said I would meet you here, and bring a word: mosaic: diverse pieces forming a more or less coherent whole. Start with the shiny shards of my day:
lenten journal
Before I left for work today I perused the shelves in my office to find a book to accompany me at lunch. I picked up The Poet’s Notebook: Excerpts from the Notebooks of Contemporary American Poets, which I have had for a long time. I looked to see when