disciple – Page 8 – 300 words a day

A psalm for Monday morning.

First published July 13, 2011. When you pick up a book of poetry or a book of song lyrics, you have to work. You cannot read Gerard Manley Hopkins or W.H. Auden or Bono the same way you read Malcolm Gladwell or Donald Miller. With poems, you have to stop often, read out loud at […]

by Jon Swanson

Richard and Andrew didn’t make me run.

“You’ve created a monster.” That’s what one of my colleagues told my marathon running friend, Richard, the other day. Richard and I meet weekly, but not to talk running. But I usually know when he’s heading to Boston or another marathon site. I used to laugh when he talked about running ten miles before we […]

by Jon Swanson

A way to request a mentor.

Sometimes we need coaching but we don’t know how to ask. Feel free to use this as a template. Dear ___ I need a mentor. I pick you. I’m pretty sure that thought scares you. You’re sure that you don’t know anything well enough to share. You spend so much time feeling like you aren’t […]

by Jon Swanson

Portable routines

As much as I love the idea of routines, I admit that I struggle to follow through with the routines that I know will help me. Here are some of the struggles from recent weeks: When you are out of your routine surroundings, what are the prompts that will remind you of your habits? If […]

by Jon Swanson

They did not know what he was talking about.

Sometimes I want to know what’s going to happen next. I worry about it. I identify options. I want God to simplify things and just tell me his plans and how they fit with mine. The twelve disciples may have thought the same things one day as they traveled with Jesus. They thought, perhaps, that […]