Marginalia

Currently reading: Ordinary Mysticism by Mirabai Starr 📚

You don’t have to enter a monastery to be a mystic. You don’t have to renounce chocolate or forsake pop culture. It is not necessary to take formal vows and beat yourself up when you inevitably fail to uphold them…To be a mystic in our times is not about renunciation; it is about intention. Living as a mystic means orienting the whole of yourself toward the sacred. It’s a matter of purposely looking through the lens of love.

Morning Light

Leading a funeral service later today and reminded of this verse:
“Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.”
‭‭Psalm 30.5

I sort of forgot that I had this blog until I was charged the annual fee this week. Feeling inspired to come back and use it since I’ve already paid for it, just trying to figure out how I’d like to use it. I’ve completely exited all other forms of social media so it feels strange to return.

Sacred Space

The cost of so much connection and information has been the deterioration of our capacity for attention and reflection. And it is the quality of our attention and reflection that matters most.

The Great Delusion Behind Twitter

Took my children to see a house near us decorated for Christmas in a way that makes Clark Griswold look restrained. Merry Christmas.

Enjoying watching USA V. NED and have been impressed by the USA so far but when the cross the ball into the box they need to have someone there to make the shot. Unfortunately NED has demontrated twice how it’s done. ⚽️

It seems that in our pursuit of happiness, we’re taking focus off of what could be meaningful. But it’s in the pursuit of what is meaningful that happiness seems most likely to appear. As Viktor Frankl put it, “Happiness cannot be pursued, it can only ensue.”

Ryder Carroll

I have enjoyed the safety net of having Microblogvember to inspire me to post regularly and I’m hoping to continue posting regularly after it’s over (though I’m not sure that it will be daily).

Didn’t know how I would use the word fish in a post today and then I had to save a work colleague from falling victim to a phishing scam. I know it’s spelled differently but it’s the best I got.

I’m normally off on Monday but I’m starting a new trend today and moving my day off to Friday. Hoping for a good start to the week.

I always find that my motivation takes a nosedive on Sunday afternoons but unfortunately my day is not done till 6 today so I’ve got to find a way to focus again.

Made a commitment to the kids to get the Christmas tree the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Some years it’s freezing outside but this year we got some beautiful weather.

While there are certainly moments that I find writing sermons to be a frustrating activity, I very much enjoy the ritual of working through the process and seeing the finished product emerge.

I’m grateful to have time set aside to gather with family and give thanks for blessings in our lives but I also aim to retain that spirit of gratitude and thanksgiving on other days as well.

It always irritates me that Microsoft apps seem to want to update at the most inconvenient times. I think the universe is telling me it’s time to quit working on this PowerPoint.

Getting my children to eat a meal can at times be one of the greatest challenges of parenting. They would both rather graze than actually sit down and eat.

Qatar World Cup: Last Week Tonight

While I’m very excited to watch the World Cup, I’m grateful that John Oliver did this piece to help shine a light on the terrible treatment of the laborers who made this World Cup possible.

I had some dental work done today. I may need to ice my face later, or have a little ice with whiskey to dull the pain.

Watching the Eagles and hoping we don’t have a repeat of the game from Monday night. Let’s go Birds!