A Blog focused on living in community with God and humankind, following the One described in John 1:14--"And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth." Entries are mostly florilegia except for comments signed by Truthful Grace.
"40 is the old age of youth; 50 the youth of old age"
~ Victor Hugo, French Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician, author of the novels The Hunchback of Notre-Dame and Les Misérables (1802-1885)
“in his will is our peace"
~ Dante Alighieri, Italian poet, writer, and philosopher (1265-1321)
"You may not know it, you may not find it, but your life matters, and you are here for a reason."
~ Jane Goodall, Conservationist
Matthew 7:21-2 ESV - I Never Knew You
21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
22 On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?'
23 And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'"
quote from Gordon MacDonald:
"When I was a child, I had a Sunday school teacher who was talking about heaven one day. And she said, in heaven, everything's going to be perfect. There's going to be no sin. There's going to be no tears.
And I raised my hand.
I said, Ms. Cummins, will we play baseball in heaven?
She said, well, I don't know, Gordon, but I'm sure that Jesus will arrange that if you'd like to play baseball.
So I said, well, then tell me, if we play baseball, every time the pitcher throws a ball, it'll be a strike. And the batterer will always hit it for a home run, and the center fielder will always catch it for an out. How does this work?
And she said, Gordon, that's the stupidest question I've ever heard.
And some of the theologians at Denver Seminary, when I told that story, said, that was a brilliant question. That's a six-year-old describing one of the most complicated spiritual truths there is."
from Steve Macchia, Leadership Transformations, The Discerning Leader Podcast: Gordon Macdonald – Part 1 | Summer 2025: Rewind, Episode 8, Aug 21, 2025, "Gordon MacDonald on The View from 80, 15 Life and Leadership Lessons After Eight Decades on the Planet"
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-discerning-leader-podcast/id1523104085
Former colleagues, students and friends remember Dr. Walter Brueggemann
Panelists at Columbia Theological Seminary share stories about their friend and mentor, who died June 5 at age 92
October 9, 2025, Mike Ferguson, Presbyterian News Service
LOUISVILLE — This week the Columbia Theological Seminary community remembered beloved Old Testament Professor Walter Brueggemann by convening a panel of his friends and admirers to talk about what made Brueggemann the celebrated teacher and author that he was.
Brueggemann, who wrote more than 100 books and inspired generations of pastors and scholars, died June 5 in Traverse City, Michigan, at age 92. In 2003, he concluded his influential and prolific academic career at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia, where he taught for 17 years.
Quotes:
Dr. Bill Brown of Columbia Theological Seminary:
“His words are poetic. There’s a passion behind them that makes them persuasive and compelling,” Brown said. “Walter’s work has made it impossible to do biblical studies without a compassionate concern for people in pain.”
Brueggemann did more than put the “so what?” in biblical studies, Brown said. “He put the prophetic ‘therefore’ in biblical studies.
When Brown was a graduate student, Brueggemann put on a Lenten series on the Psalms at a local PC(USA) church. “He came in and sucked the oxygen out of the room. He had this commanding presence,” Brown said. “I had never witnessed a Bible lecture as performance art before.”
“He invited us to write a lament from the perspective of a Palestinian mother,” Brown recalled. “That was 40 years ago, and it always stuck with me.”
Dr. Davis Hankins of Appalachian State University:
“He made us believe the Bible really matters.”
Dr. Kathleen M. O’Connor, professor emerita at Columbia Theological Seminary:
“It’s obvious this man had an incredible integrative intelligence,” O’Connor said. “What he had that the average bear doesn’t have is discipline and devotion.” Normally the first one in the office, Brueggemann would write for 90 minutes every morning, she said.
https://pcusa.org/news-storytelling/news/2025/10/9/former-colleagues-students-and-friends-remember-dr-walter-brueggemann