With apologies to Charles Dickens.
In many ways, 2017 was the best of times for me.
Then in the last eight months, it was the worst of times bringing terrible grief.
Now on the last day of 2017, I am looking forward with guarded optimism to 2018.
Today is my birthday which puts me in a philosophical frame of mind.
I found myself thinking about the tumultuous year that flew by.
So many good things! Life was a joy. My sons and their families were doing great. Continue reading “Musings on my birthday”
I give God thanks for all that was good in the day that is ending.
I ask God’s mercy on my sins and omissions this day.
I seek God’s peace in my home and in all the world this night. Amen
(Prayer from Saint Augustine’s Prayer Book )
One of my favorite saints. He was human. He was flawed.
He was a theologian, philosopher and bishop.
I have found his writings relevant to our world even though he lived centuries ago in an equally imperfect world.
Confessions of Saint Augustine
The City of God
On Christian Doctrine
According to Wikipedia, Saint Augustine influenced
Bernard of Clairvaux, Thomas Aquinas, Saint Bonaventure, John Calvin, Martin Luther, René Descartes, Cornelius Jansen, Nicolas Malebranche, Søren Kierkegaard, John Henry Newman, J.R.R. Tolkien, Edmund Husserl, Martin Heidegger, Hannah Arendt, Carl Schmitt, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Antonio Negri, Jean-Paul Sartre, Benedict XVI
In times of sorrow, in times of fear, I seek comfort from the wisdom of great personages of our past. The thread of humanity lives on in their words and deeds.
I am exhausted.
What started as a lovely Sunday turned into a harrowing experience.
~Shana Verstegen, Lumberjack & Fitness Pro Continue reading “Head up. Keep Moving.”
Sweet home Alabama
Where the skies are so blue
Sweet home Alabama
Lord, I’m coming home to you
~Lynyrd Skynyrd Continue reading “One Table”
It’s been a long, busy, emotional week.
It’s time for rest.
On Armistice Day, the French people stop at 11 A.M. on the 11th day of the 11th month.
This moment of silence across the nation is to remember the sacrifices of the men and women who died for their country.
Ambushed walking down the street.
Minding my own business.
Nothing in particular on my mind.
Then I saw this beautiful car.
I had to stop and look.
Sometimes help comes from the least expected place.
Sometimes help comes when we don’t know we need it.
Sometimes it comes in a few sentences rolled into a few paragraphs. Continue reading “My Italian Bulldozer”
Lori Greer in Portland 