Forty Years

On July 16, 1969, my father proposed to my mother.

Oh, and a Saturn V booster lifted off from Launch Complex 39 to take Apollo 11 to the moon.

Big day for all mankind. My dad has a habit of timing things like that.

Speaking of Apollo 11, NASA has a great thing going to commemorate the event: streaming audio of the whole mission in real time as it unfolded. Click here to listen.

Precious

My niece.

My nephew sitting with his namesake, my dad.

Cutest. Kids. Ever.

Revolution

Tip of the hat to Streak for pointing out a nice reading of the Declaration of Independence. Click here and be sure to click "listen now" at the top.

Recession

Brutal, brutal day at the office. I won't go into detail to preserve anonymity (and to protect myself for obvious reasons) but it's enough to say that 20 percent of our full-time staff were laid off today. I was spared the axe, and I'm already experiencing survivor's guilt (see here for more on that) but this post isn't about me. It's about a couple of sights I saw today that were haunting.

The first was when I rounded a corner to see my boss leaning on a file cabinet, his head down and buried in his arms like a kid playing hide-and-go-seek. He's not the boss who had to make this call, but it weighs him down all the same. I don't get too carried away feeling sorry for upper management because it's hard to feel sorry for anyone who makes that kind of salary, but it was still a humanizing moment and seeing him in that state only added to my respect for him. And I respected him a great deal to begin with.

The second was the kind of thing that a good photographer could have captured and turned into a magazine cover. At the end of the day, when the massacre was over, I went into the conference room where the firing squad from HR had lined everyone up. The room was empty, chairs askew. Business cards from HR littered the table, mixed in with pamphlets about retirement accounts and a variety of debris from the cold-blooded bureaucracy. But at one end of the table there was something else entirely, and it captured the whole, horrible day in its stark simplicity.

It was a box of tissues.

Father Matthew on Lectio Divina

For Your Consideration

Thought this was a good reflection on the current political environment. There's a lot of hand-wringing and apocalyptic anxiety coming from the right lately, including some really awful things that if anyone had said about the previous president would have cost them their job or have branded them "unAmerican."

But the facts are clear. Two domestic terror events in the last two weeks, and neither of them came from left.

Just sayin'.

If God had Texted the Ten Commandments

GOD TEXTS THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.
BY JAMIE QUATRO


1. no1 b4 me. srsly.

2. dnt wrshp pix/idols

3. no omg's

4. no wrk on w/end (sat 4 now; sun l8r)

5. pos ok - ur m&d r cool

6. dnt kill ppl

7. :-X only w/ m8

8. dnt steal

9. dnt lie re: bf

10. dnt ogle ur bf's m8. or ox. or dnkey. myob.

M, pls rite on tabs & giv 2 ppl.

ttyl, JHWH.

ps. wwjd?

Light Perpetual

My good friend's father died yesterday after a long and hard fought battle with a number of conditions. The man was tougher than nails. Please join me in this prayer.

O God, who by the glorious resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ destroyed death, and brought life and immortality to light: Grant that your servant T.J., being raised with him, may know the strength of his presence, and rejoice in his eternal glory; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (BCP)

And please join me in this prayer for my friend and his family as they deal with this loss.

Most merciful God, whose wisdom is beyond our understanding: Deal graciously with this family in their grief. Surround them with your love, that they may not be overwhelmed by their loss, but have confidence in your goodness, and strength to meet the days to come; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP)

I Bid Your Prayers

My good friend's father is very ill. Please join with me in lifting up prayers for him and his family.

O merciful Father, who has taught us in your holy Word that
you do not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men:
Look with pity upon the sorrows of your servant for whom
our prayers are offered. Remember him, O Lord, in mercy,
nourish his soul with patience, comfort him with a sense of
your goodness, lift up your countenance upon him, and give
him peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
(BCP, p. 831)

Gorgeous

Galactic Center of Milky Way Rises over Texas Star Party from William Castleman on Vimeo.