šµ Jay Nelsestuen, thanks for the the introduction to Djesse. After a month I’m still on volume 1, but…wow.
šø Day 4 of 30 | foliage
For several years Julie Beck has been publishing articles in The Atlantic on friendship. Check out: The Friendship Files.
Some folks in Tucson are hoping to reduce homelessness with a tiny-home village. This is a bold experiment from which I suspect we will learn a lot.
šø Day 3 of 30 | card
A special birthday card from a friend who loves the American West as much as I do.
I shared the following with my church this morning:
Each year on Arizona Gives Day, ArizonansĀ donate money and pledge volunteer hoursĀ to support the non-profits that support our communities.Ā The impact that these non-profits have in our lives is huge. And they need our help.
šø Day 2 of 30 | flowers
For April Iām sharing a photo a day for the Micro.blog April 2024 Photo Challenge. No foolinā.
šø Day 1 of 30 | toy
Big Resurrection Day at Covenant. In addition to our regular service, we also had two reaffirmations of faith, two baptisms, and a delicious, brunch-based lunch. Itās wonderful to see and enjoy all the Lord is doing.
I’ve put together a new program at Covenant called Forums of Five. Forums of Five aims to provide our members with an easier path for fostering close friendships in the church. Here’s why. Each Forum of Five consists of either five men or five women who build friendships with each other as peers for the purpose of mutual Christian care. Forums start with a fun Day Away and then meet monthly for a year to share life’s ups and downs and support each other through prayer.
Finding and developing close friendships is not new. And I’ve drawn from several sources to form the initial plan for the ministry and am looking forward to how things take shape. I’m sure we’ll learn and change as we go. But I’d like to take a moment and recognize some experiences, books, and people I’ve learned from that have helped me get this far.
Loneliness is the sorrowful feeling being disconnected from others when a connection is felt to be needed. Or to use a standard definition, loneliness occurs when the quantity and quality of connections we have is less than we want. It is commonly accompanied by despair and anger.
Sometimes our loneliness makes sense. Perhaps a close friend passed away or you moved and don’t know anyone yet. But other times, loneliness is confusing. For example, sometimes people don’t understand why they feel lonely, even though they belong to a friendly church community. “People know me and I know them. They care about me and I have meaningful ways to contribute. So why do I feel alone?”
Caring for the souls of others is an essential part of living as a Christian. During the Reformation, one tool for providing that care was sometimes called āprivate conferenceā. Private conference was a broad (and not very descriptive) term, used to describe conversations and moments in conversations, in which one could get and provide spiritual encouragement and support. These conversations might happen because of a moment of need, or as a regular, intentional part of spiritual growth.
Examples and benefits of this practice were described in 1678 by John Bunyan in his popular allegory Pilgrimās Progress. Historian Charles E. Hambrick-Stowe writes:
In Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress private conference is what makes Christian’s journey at all possible. Time and again as destruction is imminent the advice and comfort of a fellow pilgrim enable him to press on. Private spiritual counseling guided individuals through the conversion experience; screened church members and led them to make a public profession of faith; enabled parents to bring their children and servants to the experience of grace, and saints to help one another grow in grace.
In Pilgrim’s Progress, Christian needed the help of spiritual conversations for his journey, in the beginning, middle, and end. And so do we. And so do our neighbors. As Christians we should be actively seeking these moments of soul care for ourselves and helping to provide them for others. Learning more about the practice of “private conference” may be of some help.
Learn More:
- Rebecca Carhart, A Forgotten Spiritual Practice: Puritan Conference and Implications for the Church Today
- Charles E. Habrick-Stowe, The Practice of Piety: Puritan Devotional Disciplines in Seventeenth-century New England
- Joanne J. Jung, Godly Conversation: Rediscovering the Puritan Practice of Conference
AZ, our Presidential Preference Election is today. Democrats and Republicans can vote for the probable candidates, or they can protest vote for whom they wish were the nominee. Hereās the deal on Independents.
Note: the primary on July 30th is for candidates other than president.
typography links
- Learn to kern, with a fun game.
- macOS Sonoma has an improved typography palette.
- Test your colors against accessibility standards.
- I love Libertinus, an extended family of free, full-feature fonts that can handle Greek, Hebrew, Latin, and more.
I think the answer to this question is found in another question:
Do you want people to take you literally?
It depends, right? Generally, you mean what you say, and you want people to believe you.
ā¢ If you say you are going to the store, that means you are going to the store.
ā¢ If you say you want a puppy, that means you want a puppy.
But we know that sometimes people take us too literally, which means they think we are saying something we are not. Like when you say, ājust a minuteā, and then someone starts counting down from 60. So annoying! Unless, of course, they are joking. Then you are the annoying one for taking them too literally.
The key here is intentions. We want to be heard in the way we intend to be heard. The same is true for God. When God is telling us history in the Bible, we should take it as history. When God is telling us a parable, we should take it as a parable.
How do you know which is which? The same way other people know what you mean: by listening. By paying attention to both what is said and the way it is said, we can learn how to read the Bible.
Figuring out what God intends might not always be easy, but it will get easier the more we get to know him and the better we get at listening.
I loved Tyler Cowenās interview with Masaaki Suzuki. Now Iām curious about enka, the music of Tori Takemitsu, and thanks to Mr. Cowenās links, Music, Modernity, and God.
Infinite Craft at neal.fun is fun. My son showed it to me last night. He even made some never-seen-before creations. I tried to do that too, but couldnāt do it. However, I was pretty pleased with myself for creating Darth Sauron.