1) Abstract discussions of suffering are not helpful. They must be located within a story. Yours or someone else’s. The one who cannot do this should keep silent till they are visited by despair.
2) Every Fall I begin the Harry Potter books and usually finish around Christmas. It’s not intellectual or spiritual, but it helps anyway. There’s a rhythm there I enjoy. Maybe because I miss the characters when it’s done.
3) Success in a job does not guarantee happiness with that job.
4) My daughter already knows all the words to the new U2 album.
5) We all like the story of the underdog until we are hiring someone, then it’s all résumé.
6) Achtung Baby, The Joshua Tree, The Unforgettable Fire, All That You Can’t Leave Behind, Rattle and Hum, War, No Line on the Horizon, Boy, How to Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, Pop, October, Zooropa
7) All that outrage about the NFL and violence against women didn’t last very long. We love our gladiators.
8) I read someone criticizing the long baseball season the other day. They asked why so many games with so much playoffs. They don’t get it. Baseball was meant to be enjoyed for what it is. Not for merely what your team does. There is an inherent beauty even in the most disastrous of outcomes for your beloved team.
9) I’ve been asked how I feel about Michael Horton’s new book, Ordinary. I wish I could say it didn’t bother me. But I can’t. It’s very disheartening. Very discouraging.
10) A lifetime sitting next to my wife will not be long enough.
Echoes and Stars 
Matt, I have not read Horton’s new book. What is so disheartening and discouraging about it?
You bless me everytime by the way you love your wife
Mark, have you read Matt’s book God of the Mundane? Wrote about “ordinary” first and no doubt more eloquently. But without the extraordinary fanfare.
Rare is the person who writes with the humility, transparency, and vulnerability of Matt Redmond. To say nothing of his mastery of writing as gift to the soul. What he lacks is connections in high places and an endowed chair in the theological ivory towers.
Amen! You said exactly what I wanted to say about Matt’s book.
Suzanne, I have read Matt’s book and absolutely loved it! It was a breath of fresh air to me! I agree with you…rare is the person who writes with the humility, transparency, and vulnerablity as Matt. I have passed along the book to others and it has also blessed them. Sometimes I need to pick it up again just to get “grounded”. Thanks for your post.
“The Wanderer” on Zooropa is a hidden treasure
#9 Be of good cheer my friend. Your book “God of the Mundane” will always be the best on the subject and I love it. I think you are a gifted wordsmith and if I owned a publishing company I would be begging you to write more.
#7 Bread and circuses/beer and football.
#8 You, I, George Will and innumerable others agree on this. I follow the Cardinals and the Twins. One of the two has had the good fortune of routinely having a longer season than most other teams!
God bless you and your family this week.
P.S. Even though I don’t own a publishing company I am still begging you to write more!
#4: So do our kids. U2 Fans Next Generation.
#9: No celebrity will every write with the soulful clarity that you do. You bless me.