Community is Hard

The Missional Wisdom Foundation, and I with it, have spent the last several years trying to ask good questions about what it means to live in grace-filled and producing communities.

Wisdom for the Way, Inter-ThemeAndrea LingleAugust 25, 2021Veritas Canis, Theme XXXIIIComment

Nikki

I have saved Nikki’s story for last. In a way, it is the hardest for me to capture because Nikki is my dog.

Wisdom for the Way, DevotionalDenise CraneAugust 18, 2021Veritas Canis, Denise Crane, Theme XXXIIIComment

Nugget

My daughter and her husband adopted Nugget when he was two. Nugget is not the brightest bulb in our pack. In fact, I call him the “50 First Dates” dog.

Wisdom for the Way, DevotionalDenise CraneAugust 11, 2021Veritas Canis, Denise Crane, Theme XXXIIIComment

Tank

Tank is one of the senior members of our pack. He is also the smartest dog we have ever had in any version of our pack.

Wisdom for the Way, DevotionalDenise CraneAugust 4, 2021Veritas Canis, Denise Crane, Theme XXXIIIComment

Duke

Duke is the largest member of our pack. He’s a black Lab mix weighing in at around ninety-five pounds (currently under orders to trim down some).

Wisdom for the Way, DevotionalDenise CraneJuly 28, 2021Veritas Canis, Denise Crane, Theme XXXIIIComment

Basher

Basher is one of the rescues in our pack that we got to name. He is also the only dog that didn’t come from some sort of rescue/shelter agency.

Wisdom for the Way, DevotionalDenise CraneJuly 21, 2021Veritas Canis, Denise Crane, Theme XXXIIIComment

Tulip

I have the great privilege to live near both of my adult children. Each of the three households contains dogs as part of the family.

Wisdom for the Way, DevotionalDenise CraneJuly 14, 2021Veritas Canis, Denise Crane, Theme XXXIIIComment

New Every Morning

Small silver fingers of morning light creep over the ridge across from my front porch. Morning comes on slowly in our little valley.

Intentions

I am an English teacher. And, like most English teachers, I love to read. Poetry. Prose. Comics.

The Little Moments

My wife and I are in the midst of one of life’s transitions, downsizing from the big house the kids grew up in to a smaller house that better suits our needs.

Wisdom for the Way, DevotionalLarry DugginsJune 23, 2021Theme XXXII, The View from the Back Porch, Larry DugginsComment

A Day in the Life

This morning I woke up, got out of bed, skipped dragging a comb across my head (sorry John Lennon), and started my morning chores, my daily routine. My every day routine.

How, Then, Shall We Live

Each Saturday, I sit down with my sister-in-law and plan our household’s meals for the upcoming week.

Wisdom for the Way, DevotionalAndrea LingleJune 9, 2021pilgrimage, Ten Slow Steps, Theme XXXI, Re-EntryComment

Unto These Moments

Do you believe in Moments? Times when all the tumblers of life line up, and you feel the snick of the Divine pouring through the fabric of what was a normal day.

Wisdom for the Way, DevotionalAndrea LingleJune 2, 2021pilgrimage, Return, Ten Slow Steps, Theme XXXIComment

Arriving to Mystery

Honestly, if you look at the bones of pilgrimage, it is not terribly complicated. Prepare, journey, arrival, return, re-enter. This can’t possibly be all there is to it. That could describe any trip.

Wisdom for the Way, DevotionalAndrea LingleMay 26, 2021pilgrimage, Ten Slow Steps, journeyComment

A Walk on a Long Road

Where would you be willing to go if you weren’t sure of what would meet you there?

Wisdom for the Way, DevotionalAndrea LingleMay 18, 2021pilgrimage, Ten Slow Steps, journeyComment

It Isn't Just Where You Go

The active work of Pilgrimage begins with the decision to go.

Wisdom for the Way, DevotionalAndrea LingleMay 11, 2021Theme XXXI, pilgrimage, Ten Slow StepsComment

Pizza with Jesus

In doing more thinking about how we choose to evolve or entrench in our theological interpretations, I was speaking to a friend of mine who has been doing some work with women who are moving out of sex trafficking.

Wisdom for the Way, DevotionalDenise CraneMay 5, 2021reading the Bible, Theme XXX, Denise CraneComment

An Untimely Death

I’ve always struggled with the Noah and the Ark story. It doesn’t fit tidily into the loving and redeeming trajectory of God’s story with Man.

Wisdom for the Way, DevotionalDenise CraneApril 28, 2021reading the Bible, Theme XXX, Denise CraneComment

Reading the Bible

Like most of the people I talk with, I am genuinely bewildered at how divided people of faith are currently when we all claim to believe in God.

Wisdom for the Way, DevotionalDenise CraneApril 20, 2021reading the Bible, Theme XXX, Denise CraneComment

Standing in the Hallway

In my first few years of sobriety, as I was rebuilding my life and it felt like every door was closed to me, my AA sponsor would encourage me to stand in the dark hallway and wait for God to open another door.