“you must embrace joy as a moral obligation”

Know that joy is rarer, more difficult, and more beautiful than sadness. Once you make this all-important discovery, you must embrace joy as a moral obligation. — Andre Gide
Jane used this quote in one of her sermons back in April or May (if I remember right), and I immediately looked it up because it [...]

“too blessed to be depressed… John 14:27″

A student came in the center today wearing a navy blue t-shirt with large white letters. I caught a glimpse of the word “blessed,” so I asked her, “What’s your shirt say?” She showed me: “too blessed to be depressed… John 14:27″ (one three lines).
I love that!

defense against the dark arts with a benedictine medal

This morning, Deb gave me a St. Benedict medal for Valentine’s Day. She likes that her Protestant partner wants a Benedictine medal, so I think she enjoyed giving it to me as much as I enjoyed receiving it. I told her, “But Benny is quite ecumenical” which she already knew, of course. Anyway, I love [...]

love = real magic

I just watched The Polar Express (borrowed the DVD from Orion), and I was thinking how all this delight and magic and wonder can be seen as a direct expression, symptom, outgrowth, sign, if you will, of a divine Spirit — in ourselves and in our creativity (e.g., in movie-making).
And so I was thinking that [...]