Parts of Speaking Publishing

  One of my favorite phrases in the Bible (well, the AV/old KJV) having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,  6  to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. "Made us accepted in the Beloved" is a wonderful, mysterious, abundant, fulfilling, promising phrase, although it may be a poetic paraphrase. Literally it is " bestowed grace (favor) upon us." Which should be enough. The "Beloved" is the Son, whom the Father loves; we are part of "the package" now. As Jesus is the Son, we are adopted as children by Jesus Christ to God the Father. If we sit and soak in how much love and care and grace this is, we will get off our self-absorption and pity parties, I think. That sounds cold; I speak for myself.  As I always say, Lent is not about giving up something, but looking toward something.

I am a massive fan of Baroque painting and sculpture. There is nothing like it; it was the height of Western art.  The term "accidental baroque" is a photograph that resembles the composition, lighting, and color of a Baroque painting.  Take a look:  https://culturedump.substack.com/p/the-accidental-baroque-effect  

 Thought about the word Lenten. This is used in Hamlet to imply sad, repentance, morosity. As a person from a different tradition who chooses to explore Lent as a pathway to the cross and resurrection, I do not have any of those background feelings of obligation, false fasting (giving up chocolate, or starting to smoke in February so you can give up smoking), or superficial penitence. I see this as preparation and a time to focus.  A former student who is far too ardent, which can also be translated as intolerant and overcritical of non-Reformed traditions, posted something about how Ash Wednesday was against Jesus' statements about washing your face during fasting. I pointed out to him that 1. Ash Wednesday is about "repenting in dust and ashes" and only lasts a day, and 2. the priest puts the ashes on. Not something I do, but I don't appreciate unfounded criticism of others who are practicing their conscience. If anything, as I have aged, I see the church as far mor...

  Joshua Harris , former pastor and author of 'I Kissed Dating Goodbye', says he may have overreacted when he publicly left the Christian faith in 2019. He reflected on how personal upheaval coincided with his deconstruction, making it easier to walk away when his life no longer aligned with conservative Christian expectations. Harris also described how his faith had long been intertwined with Republican politics. When Donald Trump reshaped the GOP, he began questioning not only his political beliefs but also his religious convictions, viewing the moment as one of hypocrisy and isolation. However, after deconstructing, Harris realized he had carried the same black-and-white fundamentalist mindset into his new “evangelical” community, becoming just as reactive and influenced by online algorithms as before. Now, Harris advocates for a more thoughtful and nuanced approach to faith. He warns against emotional reactions tied to political identities and encourages people to slow down...

  Blessed  be  the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly  places  in Christ,  4  just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,  5  having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,  6  to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He  [ a ] made us accepted in the Beloved. I will be revisiting this one for a few days.  Blessed be God who has blessed us with blessings. We are blessed by a God we must bless.  How does one bless God? Isn't that His job? The Greek Word is euloghtos. Logos speak, eu, good. To speak good of God, in the most basic form.  He speaks (and therefore does) good over us. His logos is reality.  Our version is to praise God, something we sp...

Pope Leo wrote of Lent 2026:  "I would like to invite you to a very practical and frequently unappreciated form of abstinence: that of refraining from words that offend and hurt our neighbor. Let us begin by disarming our language, avoiding harsh words and rash judgement, refraining from slander and speaking ill of those who are not present and cannot defend themselves. Instead, let us strive to measure our words and cultivate kindness and respect in our families, among our friends, at work, on social media, in political debates, in the media and in Christian communities. In this way, words of hatred will give way to words of hope and peace."   I am not Catholic and the role of the Pope (and Mary, and sacraments, and the Eucharist) are a point of disagreement for us, but these words are wise. Fasting from overuse and abuse of words makes a lot of sense spiritually.