Critical Thinking
Keith and I cuddled together under throw blankets on the downstairs sofa and watched a recording of the 2020 bio-drama “Critical Thinking.” It was a chilly night, but we were warm and toasty thanks to the fire Keith had burning in the wood stove. The movie was...
A Different Top-Down
Followers of Taoism emphasize a healthy balance between opposites, the yin and the yang, darkness and light. With that in mind, today here at Vanaprastha in the aftermath of mid-winter storm Orlena, I offer two stories from mid-summer “storms” from the past. ...
Re-reading my father’s book
August B. Hollingshead, center; Raymond S. Duff, right My birth family gathered at the dinner table every night, Daddy at the head across from Mother and we three girls between. Sometimes our father spoke about his work—without divulging confidential information,...
What lingers
We woke to a wintery skiff this morning. It was 5:15 when Heathcliff needed to go outside and relieve himself. Better than his 3 am wakeups, but that’s the season he’s in as an old dog with sugared muzzle like the snow-dusted mountains here at Vanaprastha....
Be Thou My Vision
After playing along with the opening hymn, I made my way back to Keith, sitting in the sanctuary at Bethany Lutheran Church. Yesterday's Gospel reading was Mark 1:1-13. In this scripture passage, three things happened to Jesus: 1. At that time Jesus came from...
Devotion, my word for 2021
The Sunday, December 27th Gospel reading was Luke 2:22-40, the story of Joseph and Mary taking baby Jesus to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, according to the law. Keith and I watched the service from home, erring on the side of caution. Our noses were a...