The Peace that Passes

I got a message from an old co-worker/friend yesterday that had as its subject line the name of an older man we used to work with. I knew this could only mean one thing.
I spend a lot of time thinking about "high" things, I suppose. Stuff like god, ways of thinking and being, philosophy and religions. I haven't thought about Jim for a number of years. Jim did not dwell on those issues but his life warrants reflection.
He was faithful. To his wife, his family, his job. You could set your clock to Jim.
He was kind. He was honest. He was loving. He was peaceful in his own way.
It kind of angers me when I think about the stuff I give attention to, and see other people give attention to, and I rarely dwell on or around life's true sages, like Jim.
Is it more important to make waves in life or to be a steady foundation?
Jim should be famous for the virtues he practiced daily.
I want to live my life more like Jim Miller did.

Being

Tonight I was able to meet some wonderful new people in Chico at the Sierra Nevada Brewery.
The segue into meeting these people was my connection to Emergent Village. I originally got involved with Emergent Village and the movement because of its peaceful pursuit of asking questions. Tonight was a reaffirmation of that along with a calm assurance amongst the tension of certainty and doubt. It is so wonderful to sit amongst a group of people (agnostic, conservative, gay, progressive, and otherwise) and honestly just "be" without any label or ideology distracting or debilitating our fellowship.
I look forward to following a couple of my new friends, notably Adele (who you can follow here and here) and Patrick (who you will find here)
Thanks friends.
Be at peace.

I would rather

be reading about comparative religion and philosophy.
Instead this semester I will be reading about Special Education Law, Assessment & Evaluation, Technology in Specialized Environment, Teaching Reading/Language Arts.

Ughhh...

Itchy & Scratchy

I used to not get poison oak, bad, until my mid-twenties. Now I get it so bad, I get it somewhat systemically (read: my lymphatic system is kind enough to spread it for me to the "warmer" parts of my body)
I currently have a student who has it pretty badly.
My lips started itching a couple of days ago.
I think I contracted it from grading his homework.

moral: homework can be bad for you!

Testing twitterfeed

Anyone else use Twitterfeed?
Happy with it?
Use something else?
Let me know, thanks.
peace

WOW!

Go here, read this!

HT: Tony Jones

Thinking

“Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising which tempt you to believe that your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires courage.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Recent Happenings...

Ok so it's be a while, and I hold a loose definition of "a while"

First and foremost we welcomed the newest addition to our clan on May 31He is a wonderful little guy. We have been graced with great kids and I love them dearly.
Christy is radiant when she is a mom and I love to watch her love my kids.
I added his name to the roster on my arm and got a little something else on my other arm. If you want to see those head on over to my Facebook page.

We have been crazy busy this year. Obviously waiting for the new guy to show up. Surgery on my hand again. Work. School (including one class I am taking this summer...argh). And all those pesky animals Christy likes to let hang around (in fact I get to stack hay tonight when I get home from class...woo hoo!) Big garden.
Pics coming.

Hope you all are doing well, please drop me a line.
Peace

Lyrical Addiction

Check this interview with Bill Mallonee over at Homebrewed Christianity.

To Ryan and Holly