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Category Archives: The Long Story
When Things Go Nineteen
Thanks to Stephen King, I always notice when the number 18 pops up. Like in this new Frazz comic strip by Jef Mallet at gocomics.com.
Posted in Comics, The Long Story
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20 Years Stuck in a Moment
Dang. It’s been twenty years since U2 released All That You Can’t Leave Behind. To “celebrate” the moment, the band is reissuing the album with two editions with all kinds of extras. Look for at least one of them to … Continue reading
Posted in Music, The Long Story, Travel
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“The Soil for Unexpected Good”
About fifty letters into The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien edited by Humphrey Carpenter we get a series of letters to Tolkien’s third son, Christopher. The letters move back and forth wonderfully and soberingly between the events of World … Continue reading
Gospel and Church, Mold and Platform
In his survey of failing institutions in American life, Yuval Levin writes about the church in the “close to home” section (which also includes the family and community organizations. While he writes about the loss of authority of the Catholic … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Faith, The Long Story
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Living with Loss
Last week America posted a short reflection by James K. A. Smith about how Christians handle loss. What begins with a nod to Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead takes a personal turn that I found difficult and brilliant. Smith writes: A number … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Faith, Friendship, Notes for a World's End, Television, The Long Story
Tagged James K A Smith
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The Story of a Vocation
This weekend I spent some time in my classroom getting ready for the end of the semester. When I do that kind of thing, I usually play sermons or lectures that I find on YouTube. This time I listened to … Continue reading
Wendell Berry and “The Commitment That Doesn’t See Any End”
At the end of a recent interview with Amanda Petrusich of The New Yorker, Wendell Berry characterized the life of faith with some interesting wording. When asked about religion, particularly in terms of his parents’ faith and his upbringing, Berry … Continue reading
Concerning Hurricane Lane
Today was one of those weird days where you are waiting and preparing for something that just hasn’t happened yet . . . and that can’t be undone once it’s happened. I am writing, of course, of Hurricane Lane (which … Continue reading
Posted in The Long Story
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“Distill, and Know That I am God”
Let’s start with this recent classic Calvin and Hobbes strip recently posted to gocomics.com: I’m about to board a plane that will take me to a place I’ve never been that’s also a place where there’s a lot of nothing … Continue reading
Posted in Comics, Faith, Teaching, The Long Story
Tagged Alan Jacobs, James K A Smith
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The Single Man and the Arc of Life
Last month I started a slow articulation of my current disposition towards church and the Christian life. It started with thoughts about friendship or community through the lens of a Rod Dreher post. From there I moved to a reflection … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Faith, The Long Story
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