following – Page 12 – 300 words a day

starting today

When you walk into our house you see a framed piece of calligraphy. “Choose you this day whom ye will serve,” it starts in King James English. “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” It’s a couple of sentences from a longer speech by Joshua. Near the end of his life, […]

by Paul Merrill

Impatient

(Paul Merrill writes here every First Friday.) I grew up hearing the phrase, “in ‘the fullness of time’ “. That’s found in Galatians 4:4 in the King James Version of the Bible – a translation that is no longer commonly used. (The English language has changed a lot since 1611.) In my favorite translation (the […]

by Jon Swanson

what do I do with this stuff I learn?

That’s a significant question. We read. A lot. We hear. A lot. We say A lot. And then we live. A lot. Some of us are very comfortable keeping the input and the output separate. Some of us avoid the hard work of taking the interesting ideas we hear and the fascinating role models we […]

by Jon Swanson

confident humility

I’ve been trying to decide how to write about Jesus washing the disciples’ feet. Yesterday, I hinted at a feeling of entitlement among the disciples, just a moment of it. I think it was too much of a hint. So I’ll be less subtle. Confidence let Jesus be humble. Deservingness causes humbleness to be needed. […]

by Paul Merrill

Tired

(Paul Merrill writes here every First Friday) Some days find me wondering about life. I get discouraged at mountains that need to be climbed, fires that need to be put out and cries that need to be responded to. Mental and spiritual tiredness can be translated into physical tiredness. Jesus said, “Come to me, all […]