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Author Archives: awtraughber
Just As I Am [January 17, 2025]
This past Christmas break was the first one where I felt like all of the “unbundling” of the last few years of work and church could finally be felt. There was a lightness to things for me, an appropriate size … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Just As I Am, Music, Teaching
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Managing the Stacks
It seems to me that a big part of daily life is a matter of managing the stacks. Because things pile up.1 Lots of things pile up, which requires a lot of sorting. But the sorting, however meticulous it is, still … Continue reading
Routines, Ruts, and the Groove
Routines are good and necessary things. At the very least, they can be scaffolding and safeguards. Without care, though, you can fall into the unfortunate side of a routine: the rut. The rut is a good thing turned into drudgery. … Continue reading
Once More with Resolve
While I don’t think big decisions should be made on little etymological nuances, those nuances are often intriguing. Case in point: resolve and resolutions. Counselor and author Chip Dodd starts his January newsletter with some thoughts on the terms: Resolution … Continue reading
Posted in Faith, Holidays, Music, The Long Story
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Resolved But Never Solved
I’m sitting in the A-gates area of the Denver International Airport. I’ve spent the last nine days in Tennessee seeing family and friends, and it was a really good trip. I learned some time ago that the only way to … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Faith, Holidays, The Long Story, Travel
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Institutional Enchantment (or not)
I’ve done a decent job of being in “break mode,” I think, but this recent post by Richard Beck unexpectedly took me back a few weeks to a meeting I was in. The article, for which I am grateful, is … Continue reading
Posted in Church, Faith, Organizations and Institutions
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“The Blue Back in My Eyes”
One of the nice surprises of these last few weeks has been the chance to hear some new/old U2 music that’s rooted in their How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb phase. I already shared the link to “Country Mile.” Here’s … Continue reading
Posted in Music
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A Short Poem for Christmas Day
“Xmas Day” by G. K. Chesterton (an early poem) Good news: but if you ask me what it is, I know not; It is a track of feet in the snow, It is a lantern showing a path, It is … Continue reading
One Season Turns to Another
And so one season turns to another, the the folks in Frazz are right, time tends to blend things together in weird ways. Twelve days for Christmas can be nice, though difficult to hold together when things in the world … Continue reading
Advent and “The World’s Last Night”
Advent, as I understand it, helps us consider two truths: the birth of Jesus (His first coming) and the return of Jesus (His second coming). That’s a lot to hold together, I think, especially with the strong pull of Christmas … Continue reading
Space Enough, and Time 