Echoes and Stars

1. Applause is addictive and deadly. Especially when you receive it in one area of your life but not in another.

2. Flannery O’Connor said she wrote so she could know what she believed. Which is the reason for many of my posts. None of the words come from a heart perfected in belief. In fact, writing them down convinces me of my need and His sufficiency.

3. My favorite album of the past year is True Sadness by The Avett Brothers. Not only is the music something else but the songs have an effusive joy surrounding the heavy themes. Also, we need more kindness and their albums have it in spades.

4. As I watch a lot of the battles of the culture war being fought on social media, I see a bitterness masquerading as righteous indignation. The former comes cheap and revels in the downfall of another. Bitterness feeds on scandal and it’s heart leaps when another is revealed because it justifies a dearly defended fortification. Bitterness cannot look inward and see it’s own faults. It wants enemies. Which is why it cannot be righteous indignation. 

5. Endo’s Silence was a hard read. Beautifully written but painful.

6. It’s supposed to snow down here tomorrow and I don’t ever want to be so old I see it getting in the way. I want to always see it as something magical.

7. Isn’t it strange that a published writer acknowledged as talented with the written word is less qualified to teach writing in public schools than someone who has not written but has a teaching degree? Cannot get my head around it.

8. I preached on Sunday and it felt like the most natural thing in the world. More so than the 40 during the week.

9. This Sunday in Sunday School I’ll be teaching on that part of Romans 5 where Paul says we rejoice in suffering and I cannot think of a subject I’m less qualified to teach on.

10. One reason my wife is so attractive is she has no clue how attractive she is.