June 2010 – Page 3 – 300 words a day

My mind is racing; where is Jesus.

Though I sit with my feet on my desk, my mind is racing. I am thinking through teaching projects, writing projects and a retreat. The threads of thinking are tangling; each time I tug on one, my mind races to another. “Is this the project to start or is that? Can I tie some of […]

by Jon Swanson

if i could sit with you.

If I could sit with you, I would tell you that sometimes we can hear God talking and sometimes we can’t. I would tell you that when we hear him talking, you don’t actually hear anything with your ears. I would tell you that you hear it anyway, that is probably isn’t an essay, it’s […]

by Jon Swanson

and then you get up the next morning.

Sometimes you are too tired to write. You are too tired to think. And then you read in Psalm 4, I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety. And you don’t think about the deep meaning of it. You don’t spend hours looking for the […]

by Jon Swanson

A question of stopping (from the archives)

(First published May 5, 2009) Sometimes you just have to stop. Sometimes you have to stop and listen and ask and listen. Sometimes you need questions. Simple questions. Questions of few syllables and deep thought. When was the last time you stopped? That’s an easy question to ask. That’s a very difficult question to be […]

by Jon Swanson

Listening in the evening (from the archives)

(First published June 29, 2009) I write this on a comfortable evening, sitting on the deck. The wind is blowing the trees. The birds are chipping in their evening voices. I can’t tell whether they are trying to get the kids to settle down or making plans for tomorrow. The robin is on the wire, […]