Monthly Archives: October 2009

A Second Look at The Shack

Posted on October 13, 2009 by

I read The Shack last year and reviewed it here.  I just finished a second reading for a discussion group.  In the picture above, our kitten M.J. reflects on the story with me as we lie on the couch. The … Continue reading →

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Travel Light, Sermon On the Rich Young Ruler

Posted on October 12, 2009 by

Travel Light (Mark 10.17-31) He came to Jesus on his knees. It hurt to have pebbles biting into his skin, but he was earnest and genuine. With intense brown eyes, he looked up and asked our Lord, “What can I … Continue reading →

Posted in Sermons | Tagged | 3 Comments

My Years With the Great Books

Posted on October 10, 2009 by

W.A. Pannapacker, an English professor at Hope College, discovered the old 54 volume Great Books series when in his teens.  Reading them set him on a course toward an academic life.  They inspired him and revealed his limitations: Like many … Continue reading →

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10 Reasons I Should Win the Next Nobel Peace Prize

Posted on October 9, 2009 by

Dear Nobel Committee, I am submitting myself for the next Nobel Peace Prize.  Since achievement is no longer a requirement for receiving an award, I feel my qualifications are more than sufficient for consideration: 1.  I have a quiet, irenic … Continue reading →

Posted in Current Events | Tagged | 4 Comments

Art On the Wall

Posted on October 8, 2009 by

Ann Althouse ponders the artwork the Obamas have selected for the White House and offers possibilities of her own. The choice of art on the wall reflects the person who lives inside the walls.  For fifteen years this print from … Continue reading →

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Eight New Bloggers

Posted on October 7, 2009 by

Eight new bloggers have joined the CCblogs network, sponsored by the Christian Century magazine. Debra Dean Murphy, an Ekklesia Project board member and lectionary blogger, is on the religion faculty at West Virginia Wesleyan College. She blogs at Intersections. Ryan … Continue reading →

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Philip Yancey On the Gospel

Posted on October 6, 2009 by

A comment by Anne Lamott nudged me to read Philip Yancey again.  She called him ‘a graceful writer.’  When one writer commends another, I notice. I’m nearly done with his classic Disappointment with God, a reflection on the problem of … Continue reading →

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Toilet Theology

Posted on October 5, 2009 by

I stopped in the men’s room on the way into the Meijer grocery store. Never pass up a chance at a rest room, and always wear clean underwear — good rules for living.  In one stall a Billy Graham tract … Continue reading →

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Middlemarch and the Value of Long Books

Posted on October 3, 2009 by

Lisa Schiffren wonders if we can read long books anymore. She finished Eliot’s Middlemarch, with the help of a reading group and a deadline.  The story makes more sense to her now than in earlier attempts to read it. I … Continue reading →

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Thanks for Reading

Posted on October 1, 2009 by

This blog turns one year old today — with 263 posts, or five a week, and just under 17,000 page views.  The number of visitors is less than page views, and the number of readers smaller still, but I’m always … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | 4 Comments