April 2012 – Page 4 – 300 words a day

How old stories can make new sense.

We all have stories. We have some stories in common. Sometimes, we don’t know what they really mean until someone shows us the thread running through our individual stories and our cultural stories. On the day Jesus came back to life, he started walking down the road with a couple of his former followers. It’s […]

by Paul Merrill

Good Friday

Jesus Christ died. The son of God was crucified on a cross. We’ve heard the end of the story – He was raised again and lives forever. But on Good Friday we celebrate His death. “Celebrate” sounds like the wrong word to use. Why should anyone be happy about such a cruel event? The reason […]

by Jon Swanson

The kind of supper you would remember.

Remember the feelings on the last evening of that perfect vacation with friends? It was a wonderful week. Staring at the lake in the morning, wondering what life is, what life could be. Fires in the evening, and wandering through small towns in the afternoon. You got to focus on each other, to see each other […]

by Jon Swanson

What if the story is true?

We were singing an old (1707) hymn on Sunday: “When I survey the wondrous cross on which the king of glory died, my richest gain I count but loss and pour contempt on all my pride.” I started thinking about writing theology as poetry, thinking it would be a good exercise in slowing down and […]

by Jon Swanson

A break isn’t always about being broken.

Last week I took a break from writing here. I also took a break from snacking. Not on food, on information. It grew out of what I’ve been learning about stopping snacking on food during the last three months. I’ll talk more about that some day. On Sunday, I wondered about not coming back from […]