It’s only paranoia if your fears are not based in reality. Are the fears expressed in Psalm 83 real or paranoia? What do you do when God appears to be silent? Do you imagine the worst? Psalm 83 Psalm 83 starts with the people calling to God, trying to wake him up. The people are […]
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The Michigan Shakespeare Festival is celebrating 25 years in existence. I’ve been attending the Festival (formerly the Jackson Shakespeare Festival) for the past 23 years, missing only one year in that time. In celebration of 25 years, I’m sharing some of my memories of those early days. Jackson Shakespeare Festival, 1996 It was the quintessential […]
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“Judge not lest you be judged, for with the judgment you pronounce, you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.” Jesus tells us (Mt. 7:1-2). Judgment is mine says the Lord,” we are also reminded in Deuteronomy 32:35 and Romans 12:19. The writer of Psalm 82 would […]
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Summer is here, life is good! All reasons to rejoice. But we also need to remember, as Psalm 81 tells us. Psalm 81 Psalm 81 starts with a call to celebrate, “Sing aloud to God our strength; shout for joy to the God of Jacob! Raise a song, sound the timbrel, the sweet lyre with […]
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This post was first published in July of 2014. Back then the immigration crisis involved unaccompanied children coming to our country, now we have whole families. The words remain relevant. Immigration Crisis of 2014 From blog post of 2014 – With all of the news recently about the situation of thousands of children coming to […]
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Our psalm for last week of bargaining with God, gives way to depression this week with Psalm 80, the fourth stage of Kubler-Ross’ stages of dying. The Israelites are so sad that their daily bread is made up of tears, as well as their drinking water. “You have fed them with the bread of tears, […]
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Have you ever gone through a time of loss and disorientation? Sometimes these are necessary for spiritual growth. Theologian Walter Brueggemann divides the Psalms into three categories: psalms of orientation, disorientation and re-orientation. This week’s psalm, Psalm 79, is a psalm of disorientation. Psalm 79 Psalm 79 is a communal lament. The temple has been […]
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Happy birthday to me! It’s my birthday. You reach a certain age and giving gifts becomes more important than receiving them. What can you give someone who has everything? I plan to celebrate my birthday by taking two of my grandsons to see Toy Story 4 then out for a treat. However, there is something […]
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“Those who don’t learn from history, are doomed to repeat it.” (George Santayana) And sometimes, even when we know our history, we repeat it! Psalm 78 is a loose accounting of the history of the Hebrew nation up to the time of David. It is a story we continue to repeat; a history of our […]
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Diversity is a current buzz word in publishing. Publishers want books with diverse characters. In 2013, when I thought about writing the first book in my Dancing Through Life Series, Dancing on a High Wire, I envisioned the character of Esther being black and thereby providing diversity. However, following the adage, “write what you know,” […]
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