Lent’s quiet approach caught me off guard this year, but I’m determined to enjoy one final, golden pancake before Ash Wednesday, March 5, 2025, ushers in the season of sacrifice and reflection. The beauty of Lent lies in its diverse expressions, each faith and family weaving their own tapestry of observance. Shrove Tuesday’s pancake tradition,…
Bullies
I hate bullies, cuz a bully doesn’t just beat you up, he takes away your dignity…. — Phil in City Slickers. Suzy shared Phil’s quote with me this morning, a stark echo of our shared unease. Last night, we were both deeply troubled by the White House meeting with the Ukrainian President. The President’s actions and…
Risk Averse
So she lay at his feet until morning. — Ruth 3:14. A simple phrase, yet it encapsulates the audacious gamble Ruth took. After weeks of quiet labor, gathering sustenance for herself and Naomi, she stepped into the darkness, placing her future, her reputation, and even her safety on the line. It wasn’t just a physical…
Salt
You are the salt of the earth. — Matthew 5:13a. You are the salt of the earth.” Let these words settle within you. Feel their weight, their simplicity, their profound truth. Imagine a single grain of salt. Small, seemingly insignificant, yet possessing a power far beyond its size. Picture it: crystalline, pure, a tiny beacon of…
The Rubble
Harold Jahner’s thought-provoking book, Aftermath: Life in the Fallout of the Third Reich, vividly depicts the decade of devastation, poverty, fear, violence, and suppressed grief that followed World War II in Germany. Reading it, one is struck by the parallels to the current destruction in Gaza and Ukraine. Jahner’s descriptions of bombed-out German cities, reduced…