As I’ve said before, I struggle with poetry. I am, I think, an impatient reader. I value clarity of thought and precision of expression. Poetry, though, doesn’t walk in straight lines. It makes you think. There is an elegance as well as precision in poetry, but it is hard won. But...
If You Need Inspiration, Watch This
posted by DJL
I can’t embed this video, I can only direct you to it. But I hope you click the link, give the 90 seconds it takes to watch it, and then send it on to others. It’s incredible. The video is a powerful and inspiring preview of the coming Paralympics Games in London later this summer. The Paralympics, if you are not yet familiar with them, is an international competition that includes athletes with motion disabilities, cognitive impairment, blindness, cerebral palsy, and amputations, among other things. The first organized competitions were started by some disabled veterans of World War II and have grown over the last half-century...
One Time
posted by DJL
I will be spending the coming week with the good folks who organized and are participating in St. Olaf College’s Conference on Worship, Theology, and the Arts. One of the guest faculty is poet Christian Wiman. One of the first poems I’d shared at this site was his “Every...
Mark 9:30-32
posted by DJL
They went on from there and passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know it; for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again.” But they did not...
Hope That Is Beautiful, Dangerous & Good
posted by DJL
Q: What do Jairus, the woman who’s been bleeding for twelve years, Stephen King, and Tim Robbins have to do with each other? A: Just about everything, at least when it comes to hope. Okay, here’s the backstory: After writing on “Hope as the Heart of the Christian Faith” a couple of weeks ago, a number of folks suggested that I watch the clip from The Shawshank Redemption (written by Stephen King and starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman) on hope. I’d seen – and loved – the movie years ago, but had forgotten that scene. I’ve put it below for you to watch: I think that’s right: hope is beautiful like a sonata from...