Thoughts on Tradition…

I’m currently in conversation with people on Julie Clawson’s blog (onehandclapping) which involves a discussion of tradition.
Interesting, thought provoking stuff.

Walking.

It feels good to walk again.  No, I haven’t been injured in any way that’s had me bed-bound or unable to move.  I have been moving.  Perhaps a bit too fast, a bit too much.  And often in my car.  Going to work, errands, trips, and treks to the gas station to get more [...]

A Singular Lord of the Rings Experience in Scotland

I have much to write about my trip to England.  The past two weeks has been a whirlwind of history, travel, minor culture shock, and reassurace that “no, it’s not an impending accident; they DO drive on that side of the road.”
One of the highlights was a stop at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland, [...]

Into “The Other”

I’ve spent my summer indulging in my love for Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and other Tolkien lore.  Tolkien’s words stay with you long after reading, like the scent of your grandfather’s cologne, and coming back to the book means simply settling down once again to the comfort of an old friend.  I [...]

A Few Thoughts on Snares

I have a rigid interior clock that does not usually deviate from its rhythm.  Therefore, when I found myself wide awake at 6 this morning, it gave me pause.  Seriously, I get up at 7:03 every day.  That’s right: 7:03.  Why my body has started to register minutes as opposed to “oh, the sun’s up.  [...]

“Holy Scriptures:” Reflections on George MacDonald 25

This story may not be just as the Lord told it, and yet may contain in its mirror as much of the truth as we are able to receive, and as will afford us scope for a life’s discovery.  The modifying influence of the human channels may be essential to God’s revealing mode.
It was one [...]

“No Comparing:” Reflections on George MacDonald 20

Here there is no room for ambition.  Ambition is the desire to be above one’s neighbor; and here there is no possibility of comparison with one’s neighbor: no one knows what the white stone contains except the man who receives it… Relative worth is not only unknown- to the children of the Kingdom it is [...]

“No Massing:” Reflections on George MacDonald 19

“There is no massing of men with God.  When he speaks of gathered men, it is a spiritual body, not as a mass.”
Okay, so I realize I’ve let quite a few days slip without posting on MacDonald.  Rather than compiling the bunch that I missed, and trying to make a broad sweeping statement about them [...]

“Truth is Truth:” Reflections on George MacDonald 14

“Truth is truth, whether from the lips of Jesus or Balaam.”
We are either attracted or repelled by statements like this.  When we are attracted to the quiet wisdom or the blunt direction given by such statements, we often reduce the value of it by incorporating it into some ad campaign or slapping it on a [...]

“I Knew a Child,” “Spiritual Murder,” and “Impossibilities:” Reflections on G. MacDonald 11-13

I’m quickly falling into the trap of simply compiling entries, instead of reflecting on each one.  Conveniently, however, these three entries all focus on the concept of Forgiveness, on how forgiveness illuminates our relationship with God, and our relationship with each other, and how those relational pairs are inextricably connected.
In “I Knew Child,” MacDonald relates [...]