Did you know that as an adult you can choose to have breakfast food for any meal of the day?

Wild right?!

#TIL

I am not an expert on politics. I am not an expert on war.

I think I may have developed an expertise over my years and training in the areas of Bible and theology.

As I have read the arguments on behalf of this military action, it does not appear to rise to meeting the requirements of a just war.

Beyond that, I do not think this falls in line with the peacemaking ethic of Matthew 5.

As a pastor, I cannot in good faith support this military action.

I am praying for a quick resolution, for the protection of civilians, for the protection of troops, and for peace to be restored. I am praying that wisdom and discernment rule the day.

I am preaching the parable of the sower Sunday. I am wrestling with how to avoid the moralistic, “you control the soil of your heart.”

This is the message that I’ve heard communicated over and over.

That’s too easy and I think misses the point of the beauty of what the sower is doing.

Being able to sit on the patio feeling the sun on your face and not be freezing is joy giving. I’m feeling my tank being re-filled moment by moment!

“The deeper our faith, the more doubt we must endure; the deeper our hope, the more prone we are to despair; the deeper our love, the more pain its loss will bring: these are a few of the paradoxes we must hold as human beings. If we refuse to hold them in the hopes of living without doubt, despair, and pain, we also find ourselves living without faith, hope, and love.”

• Parker Palmer, Quaker educator

Another super slick feature of Micro.blog? When you host your podcast there, it creates an autoMAGIC transcript!

Thursdays have become one of my favorite days of the week. I spend them in a town where I get to be present with a group of people who graciously allow me to serve as their unofficial pastor. On top of that, I get to commute with Amy!

I am currently reading: Dominion by Tom Holland 📚

Spent some with this one today. Seeing the influence of Christianity, the good and the bad is so helpful to hold a nuanced understanding of the development of Western Civilization.

I started reading: The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson 📚

I grabbed the audio book and I’m thoroughly enjoying it! It has dashes of Disc World vibes with Sanderson’s warmth.

Fun night out! Dinner ar Miller’s in Dearborn followed by hanging out at Calihan Hall to see our guy Tater-Tot.

I started reading: The Strength of the Few by James Islington 📚

Diving in to the second hierarchy series tale.

Finished reading: The Sunlit Man by Brandon Sanderson 📚

Such a fun read! It was great to see what happened with one of my favorite characters from Stormlight Archives.

Next up: The Strength of the Few, book 2 of the Hierarchy series.

Finished reading: The Lost Metal: A Mistborn Novel (Mistborn, 7) by Brandon Sanderson 📚

I can totally picture how this series will be serialized and I am so excited for it to hit Apple TV.

Do you ever bump into a quote that just resonates for you? I bumped into this one by David Foster Wallace today and it did just that today:

“The really important kind of freedom involves attention, and awareness, and discipline, and effort, and being able truly to care about other people and to sacrifice for them, over and over, in myriad petty little unsexy ways, every day.” - David Foster Wallace

The pain of death is real. Ash Wednesday is a reminder of that truth.

I long for this day…

“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’”