One of the things I love about the ecclesiastical calendar is it tells time by telling a story. Our story. The Story. We begin at Advent by preparing for Jesus’ birth and then move through the following weeks and months as the Incarnation unfolds and we see Jesus with people as he walks with them…
Life for me right now means I drive home from my part-time job at the computer store two or three nights a week and listen to a podocast of The State of Things on WUNC, which works out well since I was teaching during the day when it first aired. Last Thursday, Dan Ariely was…
Not quite six years ago, Ginger and I got to spend a month in Greece and Turkey tracing the steps of the apostle Paul, thanks to a sabbatical grant from the Eli Lily Foundation. Greece has a burgeoning Christian tourist trade, so we traveled with a group for our time there.l In Turkey, we were…
it’s like the sand of life leaks out from a hole in the sackscattered then stompedinto the surface but nothing gets lighterthe gravity of absencecrushes out the colors andsomehow grey weighs more the shadows know thingsthey are not tellingnow I see through a glassdarkly yes darkly it’s like death has an echothat bounces off shadowsreverberates…
The second annual Wild Goose Festival will take place this summer just outside of Durham at Shakori Hills from June 21-24. Come join me for a great experience. Here’s a short video from last year’s gathering. Peace,Milton
If you press me, I’ll tell you my favorite Paul Simon record is one of his least known: Hearts and Bones. I’m in the minority because it’s his least known record, I think, other than the soundtrack from his Broadway show. Nevertheless, it’s one I can listen to over and over. I thought about it…
Today we said goodbye to Lola, our eldest Schnauzer, who lived life with determination, never flinched from speaking up when she thought something (or someone) was wrong or there was a chance for a snack, and loved with her whole being. Life finally wore her out and we had to let her go on to…
How to live with the adjective inconsequential? That’s the way John Berger posed the question as I sat with his book a couple of days ago in the coffee shop waiting for time to start my after school job. He was talking about the role of the artist and writer in the face of the…
Over the past few weeks I have been editing a book manuscript for someone I don’t know. When I grade student essays, I know whose paper is in front of me, which colors how I both read and comment, but this time I am not being asked to teach, only edit. The hardest part, in…
I do wonder what was left out of the story.Jesus would walk up andsay, “Come follow me”and people just walkedoff from fishing boatsand families to catchpeople, be puzzled byparables, and remaingainfully unemployed. Part of me is curiousabout what was notworth remembering.Most of me marvelsat their unflinchingfaith, which feels farfrom familiar, forI have promises to keep.Go…