The only day in existence

by chuckofish

Well, now it is breezy and “spring-like” here in flyover country. I’m not complaining, but, you know, that means the Iris will be popping up only to be crushed by the next inevitable arctic freeze.

Daughter #2 and famille are settling in here for a few days. The movers should arrive in Illinois early next week. Fingers crossed.

I am happy to have more time with everyone.

In the meantime, here are some good things to read.

I could not agree more with this. “Changing songs to remove these kinds of words makes for weak theology and a gutted gospel. When we do this, we’re changing the very nature of God by making him into an image of what we think he ought to be. We’re keeping God’s mercy but removing God’s justice, and when we do that, it ironically makes his mercy completely unnecessary. We’re essentially saying to God, ‘I think your message is a little too rough for this new generation and we really need only to talk about how much you love them because that’s all they actually want to hear.’” Read the whole thing.

This will cheer you up: A Tour of Dolly Parton’s Career-Spanning Closet!

I really could care less about the Super Bowl, but I do like Brock Purdy.

And here’s a poem by Billy Collins: The Only Day in Existence

The early sun is so pale and shadowy,
I could be looking up at a ghost
in the shape of a window,
a tall, rectangular spirit
looking down at me in bed,
about to demand that I avenge
the murder of my father.
But the morning light is only the first line
in the play of this day–
the only day in existence–
the opening chord of its long song,
or think of what is permeating
the thin bedroom curtains

as the beginning of a lecture
I will listen to until it is dark,
a curious student in a V-neck sweater,
angled into the wooden chair of his life,
ready with notebook and a chewed-up pencil,
quiet as a goldfish in winter,
serious as a compass at sea,
eager to absorb whatever lesson
this damp, overcast Tuesday
has to teach me,
here in the spacious classroom of the world
with its long walls of glass,
its heavy, low-hung ceiling.

The Lord be with you and bless you today.