Growing up, my folks instilled in me a respect for Sunday, the Lord’s day; though not as extreme as some of my friends at church. Our morning usually consisted of Sunday school, church, and then the same fried chicken and fried okra at the same restaurant, washed down by sweet tea and Ms. Missy’s pie....
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“Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you. You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God.” — Deut. 5:12-14 (NLT) As a Fellow, rest is not something I come into contact with very often. When...
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I began with the sainted story of California. Like all of life, and the history of every people and every place, the story of California is a complex one, even a messy one. On the one hand, what we know best is from the perspective of the Europeans who came from Spain in the 17th-century....
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In and through the sheltering and kind presence of God, Ruth is given the grace to devote herself fully to work. The scripture says, “So she came, and she has continued from early morning until now, except a short rest.” I do not think this passage alone justifies stringent versions of the Protestant Work ethic. ...
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Erleichda. It translates as “Lighten up.” Of course, it’s actually a made-up word, from a fictional language, which only exists in the world of Tom Robbins’ Jitterbug Perfume. I’ve never read Jitterbug Perfume. But my mother had. And for some reason, that pretend word resounded with her. And for some reason, that pretend word came...
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Near my desk at work is a TV hanging from the ceiling, playing the news. The voices of our candidates, our news reporters, our First Lady, blare all day long. Today, during a commercial break, I heard “Learn languages online! Learn with Babbel.” My ears perked up, because this Genesis 11 passage had been on...
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