"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 batter 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
Three main features of Christianity that attract many people:
God's Power, God's Goodness, and God's Wisdom.
Dr. Diogenes Allen, Spiritual Theology, 1997, pp. 43, 111.
quote:
[When] the founders of Princeton Theological Seminary established guidelines for student conduct in 1812, they listed meditation as a foundational requirement for all seminarians:
It is expected that every student in the Theological Seminary will spend a portion of time every morning and evening in devout meditation, and self-recollection and examination; in reading the holy Scriptures solely with a view to a personal and practical application of the passage read, to his own heart, character, and circumstances, and in humble fervent prayer, and praise to God in secret.
David B. Calhoun, Princeton Seminary, vol. 1, Faith and Learning 1812–1868 (Banner of Truth, 1994), 425.
In commending meditation like this, the leadership of old Princeton was simply following the broader Reformed tradition, throughout which we find a constant commitment to meditation as a key means God has chosen to build us up in faith.
quoted from:
How Exactly Do I Meditate?
Protestant and Catholic Visions in Tension
by Matthew Bingham, Professor, Phoenix Seminary, September 17, 2025
https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/how-exactly-do-i-meditate as of 9/17/2025
In his book Directions, author James Hamilton shares this insight about listening to God:
"Before refrigerators, people used icehouses to preserve their food. Icehouses had thick walls, no windows, and a tightly fitted door. In winter, when streams and lakes were frozen, large blocks of ice were cut, hauled to the icehouses, and covered with sawdust. Often the ice would last well into the summer.
One man lost a valuable watch while working in an icehouse. He searched diligently for it, carefully raking through the sawdust, but didn't find it. His fellow workers also looked, but their efforts, too, proved futile.
A small boy who heard about the fruitless search slipped into the icehouse during the noon hour and soon emerged with the watch.
Amazed, the men asked him how he found it.
“I closed the door,” the boy replied, “lay down in the sawdust, and I kept very still. Soon I heard the watch ticking.”
"A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and of course, as long as you are looking down, you can't see something that's above you."
~ C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
“The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good,
but that God will make us good because He loves us.”
~ C. S. Lewis
The Laws of the Public Policy Process
by Morton C. Blackwell
Morton C. Blackwell, President, Leadership Institute
http://www.leadershipinstitute.org/resources/resourcesmain.cfm?section=speeches&s=11 as of 6/17/2006
"It may look like a crisis, but it's only the end of an illusion."
The Secrets of Consulting: A Guide to Giving and Getting Advice, by Gerald Weinberg, 1986
Enttäuschung (pronounced ent-TOY-shung)
following quoted from Inc.,
"Emotionally Intelligent People Use a Brilliant German Word to Turn Disappointment Into Motivation," by Justin Bariso, Feb. 25, 2024,
https://www.inc.com/justin-bariso/emotionally-intelligent-people-use-this-brilliant-german-word-to-turn-disappointment-into-motivation.html as of 9/4/2025.
Maya Watson was thriving at Netflix. Her team was crushing it. Everyone told Watson how great she was, that she was knocking at the door of the most senior level of the company. Yet, years went by. Plenty of promises and no action. . . .
Then, one day, Maya ran into one of her mentors, a well-respected VP at the company. Seeing that Maya looked frustrated, he asked if she was OK.
“No, I’m not OK,” Maya replied. “What more do I need to show? How much longer do I have to wait?”
Maya’s mentor chuckled. Looking her dead in the eye, he said:
“I have more than 200 people in my organization. It’s not statistically possible for me to think about their development or road map for their life and career. You have to take matters into your own hands or you’ll be waiting forever. No one is coming to save you.”
Maya stood there speechless.
“He was absolutely right and I couldn’t believe I never saw it that way until that moment,” says Maya. “I have always believed that frustration comes from a gap between expectations and reality. It set me free.”
That conversation set Maya on a new path. Within a couple of years, she left Netflix. And less than two years after that, she had co-founded a company and was working–-and living–-on her own terms.
All of this because Maya was able to finally see reality. She was able to “remove the illusion.”
This story reminded me of a . . . brilliant German word with a fascinating meaning.
The word is Enttäuschung (pronounced ent-TOY-shung).
Enttäuschung is officially translated “disappointment,” but there’s a deeper meaning. . . .
Disappointment, as defined by Oxford, means “sadness or displeasure caused by the nonfulfillment of one’s hopes or expectations.” . . .
The word Enttäuschung literally means:
Ent(fernen) = Remove
Täuschung = Illusion
Remove the illusion.
In other words, we often feel disappointment when the illusion of our expectations is removed, and we are forced to face reality. But this feeling can prove useful if you learn to harness it effectively. . . .
“‘Negative’ moods summon a more attentive, accommodating thinking style that leads you to really examine facts in a fresh and creative way,” writes [Harvard psychologist Susan] David. “When we’re overly cheerful, we tend to neglect important threats and dangers. … It’s when we’re in a bit of a funk that we focus and dig down.” . . .
You can change the relationship you have with disappointment. It doesn’t have to be saddening, or frustrating, or paralyzing.
You can make it motivating. Liberating. Empowering. . . .
Use that newfound knowledge to help you make better choices–-decisions grounded in reality. . . .
The illusion is gone. Now it’s time to act.
quotes from "Pierce Brosnan says Richard Osman was ‘too scared’ to visit Thursday Murder Club set"
https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/films/news/pierce-brosnan-richard-osman-netflix-thursday-murder-club-b2808457.html
by Maira Butt, Sunday 17 August 2025 19:01 EDT
quotes:
Pierce Brosnan has revealed that Thursday Murder Club writer Richard Osman was “too scared” to go on the set of the Netflix adaptation of his book.
“I think he was scared to come to the set, possibly,” the Die Another Day actor told Saga magazine. “He was a bit nervous, but he did join us and so did Steven [Spielberg, who is a producer on the movie].”
Brosnan stars alongside Helen Mirren, Ben Kingsley and Celia Imrie in the forthcoming movie, which is set to be released in some cinemas later this month on 22 August, and on Netflix on 28 August.
It follows the story of a group of pensioners living in a sleepy retirement village, who form a group to investigate murders at their leisure. Based on the internationally bestselling book series by Osman, who will release the narrative’s fifth instalment next month.
Brosnan praised Thursday Murder Club for exploring the lives of older people, who he said are often “pushed to the side” of society.
“It will bring great comfort to people who are getting old,” he said. “We don’t really look after the elders in our society, they get pushed to the side. It’s a story of dignity and hope.” . . .
Osman has previously said that his visual impairment has informed his characters, who have become much-loved by readers.
“In my life, I’m not judging people by what they look like, because I don’t really see it,” he said.
“I read books sometimes and someone will say, ‘someone has a twitch of their lip,’ or ‘their eyes do something,’ and I’m like, ‘I’ve never seen that. I don’t know what you’re talking about.’ That’s not how I see the world. I don’t see what people look like, but I do get a very strong vibe of the world, how people talk, the attitude that people have.”
