Category Archives: The Long Story

In the Backpack

Posted on June 3, 2025 by awtraughber

Frederick Buechner starts The Alphabet of Grace, his theological “slice of life” book, with this wonderfully true assertion: At its heart most theology, like most fiction, is essentially autobiographical.  Aquinas, Calvin, Barth, Tillich, working out their systems in their own … Continue reading →

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The Good Shepherd (and a quick word on 49)

Posted on May 15, 2025 by awtraughber

This past Sunday, many churches celebrated Mother’s Day.  Other churches also commemorated “Good Shepherd Sunday,” which is celebrated every fourth Sunday of Easter.  The key text for the day is John 10, where Jesus says: 11 “I am the good shepherd. … Continue reading →

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A Song for the Season

Posted on March 5, 2025 by awtraughber

Marked on the front end with Ash Wednesday, the season of Lent begins today.  Here’s a recent song by Andrew Osenga that captures today (and everyday) wonderfully.

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Loose Ends at Lent

Posted on March 3, 2025 by awtraughber

It won’t be long until Ash Wednesday begins a new Lenten season.  And while deep roots for neither of these moments exist in my own tradition, I am grateful for the opportunity they supply for both reflection and action.  And, … Continue reading →

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Choices and the Day-to-Day

Posted on February 19, 2025 by awtraughber

My favorite quote from a great piece by Kirsten Sanders about Christianity and the nature of everyday life: Discernment doesn’t mean that you are responsible for the result of your own choices. It means that at the end of your … Continue reading →

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A Long January

Posted on January 26, 2025 by awtraughber

April may be the cruelest month, but January feels like the longest.  That seems to be the way that some people feel, at least.  Maybe it’s because the end of December is more loosey-goosey and less defined and then the … Continue reading →

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Sentence Stems for Two Conversations

Posted on January 19, 2025 by awtraughber

There are two kinds of sentences that one should hear at church or in relationships with other Christians.  One should be primary, the foundation for everything that could follow.  Unfortunately, the second one has become the actual primary sentence stem, … Continue reading →

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Once More with Resolve

Posted on January 2, 2025 by awtraughber

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 →

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Resolved But Never Solved

Posted on January 1, 2025 by awtraughber

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 →

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Advent Ending

Posted on December 21, 2024 by awtraughber

While it didn’t quite happen, I did have high hopes for a solid Advent season.  I had planned on slowly reading through some of Augustine’s “Advent homilies” as recently collected by the Davenant Institute.  Unfortunately, not even pre-ordering the books … Continue reading →

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