October 2014 – Page 3 – 300 words a day

a good word for a friend.

Bud was 94. He died on Monday. I’ve known his daughter for nearly thirty years. I’ve known him for half that. I knew pieces of his story, like his service following World War 2. But I knew more of how he lived in the present. Bud read the Bible, applied it to himself, and talked about […]

by Jon Swanson

Apparently ordinary man decides to not comment.

On Wednesday, Jim Josephson, 39, spent 15 minutes reading the Facebook status updates and shared posts of friends. He then decided not to comment on any of them. In a candid statement published on his LinkedIn page, Josephson wrote about his experience: “It was rough for me,” he wrote. “I like conversation as much as […]

by Jon Swanson

What I will do.

In my journal the other day I wrote, “runners run” It was October 9. I hadn’t run for a couple days. I was a little achy. I was hesitant. But I knew that what runners do is run. More than talking about it, more than reading about it, more than worrying about it. They run. […]

by Jon Swanson

Stopping for my heart to catch up.

Nancy and I and Andrew and Allie went to ArtPrize on Saturday. It’s a huge public art show in Grand Rapids. It was part of our weekend of vacation (Nancy and I), and was part of work (Allie). There are more than 1,500 works of art all around the city. We saw a few. And […]

by Jon Swanson

A psalm for Monday

First published October 15, 2012 I’ve never talked with you about Psalm 121. It’s a song that strengthens me. When my heart sings it, I am encouraged. It has been shaping me for several decades but I’ve never talked with you about it. “The sun will not smite me by day, nor the moon by night.” […]