300 words a day

emotional Jesus.

A couple hours after I write this, I’m heading to the hospital. I’ll be walking the halls, talking to staff. I’ll be showing up in the ER about the same time as the person coming from the crash or the person fearing a stroke or the person terrified about the baby that stopped moving. I […]

by Jon Swanson

A small prayer in a big Monday.

I spend Sunday at the hospital, as I do most Sundays. I visit a room after a patient has died. She received remarkable care but her body was done working. During the time between her arrival, which I saw, and her death, our staff worked night and day to provide respect and care and answers. […]

by Jon Swanson

A prayer for the twenty-eighth Sunday of ordinary time

God We feel forgotten. We know that we should remember that you are with us. We know that we should turn to you and be comforted by you when we are in trouble. We know that we feel abandoned by you. We are sure that it’s our fault, the abandonment, or your fault, the abandonment. […]

by Jon Swanson

Reminding myself to remember.

I’ve been having troubles remembering names recently. I’m working on refocusing. But I realized that you and I probably need the lessons from this post from a few years back. +++ Awhile back I talked about a story James Bryan Smith tells about Rich Mullins. He says that during one of his tours, Rich Mullins would spend […]

by Jon Swanson

Joining in the struggle.

At the end of a letter, Paul wrote this: I urge you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me. Pray that I may be kept safe from the unbelievers in Judea and that the contribution I take to Jerusalem […]