• Church Life,  Daily Life,  Holy Days,  Prayers,  Reflections

    Gratitude

    I want to express my thanks to all of you who have reached out to me after my request. Though no clear path has yet been revealed to me, I am strengthened by the show of friendship and concern. Most of all, I am grateful for the prayers.  This is no trite statement; my belief in the power and efficacy of prayer is central to all that I am and all that I do, even when I am unfaithful and inconstant. *** Last Sunday was the last Sunday of the Church year, and this coming Sunday, the first Sunday of Advent, marks the beginning of the Church year for Anno…

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  • Church Life,  Daily Life,  Holy Days,  I Never Thought I'd Be In This Situation,  Jinx,  Lectio Divina,  Prayers,  Quotations,  Reflections

    Friday In Passion Week

    Since yesterday marked the Feast of the Assumption, I had hoped to write a post to commemorate the day. But we had thunderstorms pushing through the area, and I thought it best to keep my laptop turned off and everything unplugged. We’ve had a few less-than-pleasant experiences in the past with lightning and decided to lay low and take no chances. I did not know until recently that the Church used to teach that the date of The Annunciation, March 25th, was the date God began His work of creating the heavens and the earth. I do so enjoy learning these sorts of tidbits; it’s like discovering a yellowing photo…

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  • Church Life,  Daily Life,  Jinx,  Lectio Divina,  Movies,  Prayers,  Reflections

    Passion And Warfare

    A light rain was falling this morning when I let Jinx out. I busied myself with my morning routine, and after a while I went to check and see if the spotted menace wanted back inside. I opened the door and took a breath into my lungs, preparing to call his name. That’s when I saw what looked like a short, medium-sized dog trundle across the front yard, just outside of the reach of the porch light. Then it registered. Coon. A big one. I looked around to see if Jinx was in sight, and then I called with a thin and tentative voice. “Jinx? Come on in, boy.” I…

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  • Reflections

    Patient Whispers Of A Noble Mind

    Bruce Charlton has become one of my regular daily stops, ever since I realized that the good doctor can be relied upon to provide original and provocative observations on a number of topics. It’s about time I added his blog to my blogroll. Recently, I’ve been reading and thinking quite a bit about Bruce’s musings on Mormonism. This came about rather indirectly, after Bookslinger, a regular commenter at the Charlton blog recommended to me an LDS video about spiritual migration. After watching this video several times and subsequently watching/listening to several talks by Dieter Uchtdorf, I delved into Bruce’s archives and began reading some of his older writings on the…

  • Reflections

    April’s Begun

    I managed today to evade any attempts to ensnare me in April Fool’s shenanigans. When I look back at some of the jokes I played on people in the past, I am embarrassed. I am also grateful that I was never the victim of some of the more cruel jokes people play on this day. Some of the cruelty is unintentional, but it’s wise to remember that practical jokes can sometimes assume a life of their own, and once they do, it’s difficult to euthanize them. I’m thinking of a woman with whom I used to work. She made a point of telling everyone in the office, “Do not play…

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