I offer a throwback post on this date, to mark the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s posting of his 95 theses…a reflection I wrote earlier this year after encountering a curious garden spot in northwestern Ohio.
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The beautiful flower bed saddened me enormously…and instantaneously.
We discovered a nasty surprise as our deck-replacement project got under way recently. About mid-afternoon, the contractor tapped on the back door (never a good sign!) and asked us to come outside and take a look.
Things did not begin auspiciously for me on Day One of our recent ACTS retreat.
As I settled in to say my ‘regular’ morning prayer today, I realized that I hadn’t done so for the past several days.
Odd, but guiltless, this realization. You see, those days were spent at a retreat center…where I was serving on team for our parish’s fall ACTS Retreat.
It’s getting close now, the bottom of the jar. ‘Peter Pan Creamy’ peanut butter, to be precise. And I won’t mind polishing it off…getting that jar out of the pantry once and for all…so that I can return to my much-preferred variety of the bread spread: ‘Extra Crunchy.’
When news came yesterday of Tom Petty’s demise, it stirred up a memory in me…of a blog post I’d written long ago. Back far enough, in fact, that it appeared on my first blog — Steadfast Spirit, in 2013.
I’m fairly certain Mr. Petty never knew that he’d served as my muse of ‘found spirituality’ once upon a time. But I remain grateful for the inspiration, and offer a link to that original post…in tribute to a worthy and memorable rock-n-roller:
Today’s find: Tom Petty, Prophet
Let us pause now…to recall that we are in the presence of the Holy & Merciful One.
IHS
By the time I arrived (a little after 9 AM), our annual parish apple-butter cooking was in full swing Saturday morning: Four enormous copper kettles, all a-bubble-splosh-and-steaming…accompanied by an iTunes sound track already well into its “country” playlist.
I got more than I bargained for when I asked my next-door-neighbor for help the other day.
There’s no feeling quite like that of unmerited grace.
Say, fer instance, hearing your name called as the prize winner in a skills contest…when you know for certain you’re simply not all that skillful.
With Us Still 