November 2015 – Page 4 – 300 words a day

the beauty of ordinary.

First published January 8, 2014 “There is no shame in not leaping from a plane. There is no shame in delivering a good batch of non-gourmet chocolate chip cookies.” I wrote those sentences on January 2, 2014. I was thinking about writing a manifesto, a battle cry of belief. A manifesto is an answer to […]

by Paul Merrill

Babylon – and babies

Holding your own child for the first time is one of the greatest joys ever. Seeing your grown child make a desperately bad choice is one of the most gut wrenching experiences on this planet. We can’t know what lies ahead. So depending on previous experiences – or our level of optimism – we can […]

by Jon Swanson

Trusted advisors

(First published September 13, 2013) “If someone you really trusted evaluated your ministry, how would they say you are doing? What would they suggest you work on?” That was a question a group of colleagues faced this week. It was a good question. It pushed us to think about our work from the perspective of […]

by Jon Swanson

beginning to follow

First published January 22, 2010 Three men sat talking. Another man walked by. “That’s the one I was talking about,” says one of the three. The other two start walking after the passing man. He turns. “What do you want?” he asks. Their first word, “rabbi”, says everything. A rabbi was a teacher. Rather than […]

by Jon Swanson

A lifelong pursuit.

My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you […]