What can we reason but from what we know? -Alexander Pope
What can we reason but from what we know? -Alexander Pope
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After only a few months of operation, the James Webb Space Telescope is arguable the most important research tool ever launched into space. Its primary mandate, to observe the early universe in the infrared spectrum, has been remarkably successful thus far. Webb followers diligently track each new released image with a sense of discovery, awe and what-if-ness. The world has grown a little smaller and the universe much larger since the telescope’s launch last Christmas. Should that unsettle us or...
Aussie dogs are amazingly bright and loyal. In the quest to protect from all manner of threat, their instinct sometimes results in moving them to guard other objects as well … water bottles, sweat shirts, shoes of all kinds, and jackets when hung on a fence post. One dog in particular knows who those items belong to and takes her work quite seriously. Though a little extreme on occasion, her loyalty is touching and unmatched. She is rewarded in her mind by being allowed inside and commandeering...
Garden-wise, early fall sometimes takes short shrift when it comes to impressing people. It is a time when things begin to look fairly tough in the stalk and dry on the edges. The flowers that gave their all through the summer months are yet game although it takes a little more intensive care to keep them at their best. The coleus is a slightly darker shade, the petunias less determined to offer up more blooms, and the garden produce a little less plump than a just a few days ago. There are...
A sure sign when someone adamantly disagrees with another person is to hear them acknowledge that one or both of the parties are on different wavelengths, not on the same page but in another place altogether. It sometimes takes a whole lot of courage to fess up to reality. Any time there are relationships worth tending, however, it generally pays to be aware of just what those various wavelengths encompass. Are they helpful and favorable or does the emotional barometer bottom out in short...
It’s been a trying summer for gardening. Between the drought, a thriving crop of tomato worms, the dogs playing in the raised beds and a few hungry bunnies, things still turned out rather well in terms of produce. The neighbors are refusing to answer their door as we drop off even more cucumbers and zucchini squash. The peppers did remarkably well thinly sliced and dried to be placed in their corresponding jars. The canning tomatoes came as a bit of a shock. A hundred pounds or more remain on t...
There are lots of ways to hide behind faith when it suits our purpose. The reasons are varied and broad, but the bottom line is that whipping out the Christian label sometimes becomes a way to deflect arguments rather than taking responsibility for actions. After all, who dares to argue when we summon Christianity as sole arbiter of our behaviors, no matter how egregious they might be? A 2020 census by the Public Religion Research Institute regarding religious affiliation notes that...
Eighty-seven cents of taillight bulb, six dollars of waiting. Anyone who frequents auto parts counters knows that that is part of the price for a truly remarkable capitalist system in which one can find even the most esoteric part for whatever is in need of repair. The web provides the latest twist, transferring the hunting and parts research to our side of the counter, if not the ordering, shipping, waiting, installation and determination of the level of consumer satisfaction! Age and...
A seldom visited but sturdy hymn, “Jesus, the Light of the World,” has as part of its refrain a reference to dewdrops of mercy that ‘shine all around us by day and by night.’ The mercy within those drops is nothing to trifle with, for even the smallest of drops can result in something good beyond imagination if we choose to embrace it. It is inescapably tied to forgiveness, the very essence of Christian faith for many. Coupled with compassion, the power of that small life-giving jewel of mois...
It’s hard not to be defensive when someone challenges you by declaring, “Well, that’s not very Christian!” If fruits of the Spirit bolster one’s faith, then perhaps a more appropriate challenge should be, “Well, that’s not very Christlike!” Both point out the reality that living in Christ is a subjective standard at best. Authors of New Testament scripture take their best shots at defining righteousness and yet there exists no clear litmus test that conforms to all circumstances and settings. E...
Many of us feel shackled when pondering what to do with hundreds, even thousands, of photos and slides accumulated over decades. It only takes a few minutes of perusing old images for nostalgia to set in, and more often than not, the pictures are unceremoniously returned to their filing place/drawer/shoebox knowing that today just isn’t the right day to sort memories and give them their due. Photos and slides represent a snapshot of our lives in the moment, and a cause for contemplation. The P...
It’s our nature to pay attention to the latest interesting news or fad. If it is something out of the ordinary, something beyond our everyday activity, we are naturally drawn toward it. Such is the case with a small collection of sea shells in the flowerbeds. I don’t recall how it is we came to have so many shells, particularly in land-locked northeast Colorado, but they are a wonder and a mystery for those of us who seldom experience large bodies of water, let alone whole seas and oceans. It...
Some of the best pollinators in the world include hummingbirds and bees and insects of various kinds. Without pollinators, the earth would be hard set to produce the amount of food that is required for us to exist. Pollinators are the unsung heroes of survivability. When educational disciplines lag significantly behind the curve in the cross pollination of ideas, their survivability is also in question. The field of theology, it’s been said, is twenty to thirty years behind comparable a...
Must of us at one time or another have found ourselves at the mercy of someone offering up a prayer, invocation or similar entreaty to The Divine. Prayer is an important part of living a spiritual life but sometimes we forget that God has already heard it all, our human vanity-strewn egos refusing to let go of the notion that longer prayers yield better results. Situationally speaking, worst fears are often realized while standing in circles for prayer. A minute or two of hands clasped with...
In the church’s politically revitalized rush to impart Christian principle and accountability toward governance of the nation, a burden can be placed squarely at the feet of our country’s founding fathers. Spurious claims that we are first and foremost a Christian nation from its inception make for memorable sound bites but carry little weight with the founding fathers. Expectations by six of the most respected founders — Franklin, Adams, Madison, Jefferson, Washington and Hamilton — embrace...
The old adage about the grass being greener on the other side of the fence still speaks as loudly today as when it was first coined around the time of Christ. Attributed to the poet Ovid, it speaks to covetousness and the discontent we all share when there is something we imagine that we can’t do without, something that is oh-so-close yet manages to elude our grasp. Sometimes we allow ourselves to become so enamored with the thought of getting that we entirely forget that giving is also a c...
We love structure even when it means restricting one’s own views. Structure prescribes rules and defines arenas for the games that we play — mental, political, relational, spiritual — in forms that are acceptable to the governing culture of the moment. When things are going well, we laud the architects of such structure, praising them for their prudence and foresight. When things sway in opposite less desirable directions, structure remains visible, though it is often used as scapegoat mater...
Time flies when you’re having fun, or at least when you’re a National Weather Service reporting station. For the past couple of decades, the daily routine has included recording highs and lows of the previous weather day, precipitation amounts, wind velocities and directions and other noteworthy meteorological events. While ultimately compiled and collated with other volunteer observer sites across the nation, the original data is most often hand recorded prior to being sent in over the net...
The chainsaw hadn’t been touched but once or twice since the Dailey tornado, now several years past. The bar was embarrassingly corroded but was at least more recognizable than the chain that clung to it, securely bound in place by a combination of rust from exposure to moisture and layers of dirt, oil, and grease. This old mechanical beast, moribund, at death’s door in every regard, was too much of a challenge to pass up. Armed with naval jelly, steel wool, spray lubricant, air compressor and...
Have you ever allowed someone to confide in you only for them to share something unwarranted and unwanted, something truly ugly? Such a predicament is usually of our own making as we rise to the surface and take the bait. Truth is, gossip tends to be a central element in casual small groups. We dress it up as information that simply must be shared out of concern for friends and neighbors, but too often it devolves into nothing more than click bait and abuse of prayer chains. Secrets are hard to...
It is a good thing that we don’t have crystal balls. They would come to define our health, our mental prowess and our schedule in unhealthy ways. We would become calendar watchers consumed with fear, unable to stave off impending calamity while blaming others for our sorry lot in life. How fortunate we are, then, to rest innocently in the tension of knowing and not knowing. We are creatures in search of equilibrium, a challenging quest in a busy complicated world. That is not to say we should s...
Etched into the mature growth of our north pasture are an assortment of livestock trails. Some are quite direct while others aimlessly meander, unhurried in their roles. Most are quite narrow reflecting the tendency of the animals to walk in single file. Over time, dirt is displaced and erosion steps in to make sure each trail also exhibits depth. How deep? Just enough to bounce the truck once or twice if we’re not paying attention. When livestock comes off the pasture, little change is seen u...
Some things are just naturally made for one another; shoes and socks, nuts and bolts, coffee and cream, pins and needles. Who decides? No one is given the duty of waking each day and declaring that certain words or ideas or concepts should be configured with each other. Time and usage, however, results in combinations more favored than others. Most slide off the tongue easily which encourages even more widespread use. Another possibility is found in the grouping of objects based on...
The shuttle bus to Denver International Airport’s satellite parking was full, a dozen or so travelers nearing the end of various journeys, their thoughts focused on where they had been or where they were going. Travel weariness had dulled the senses, the ride becoming yet one more step to endure. Conversation in these situations is often confined to nicety or necessity, but little else. On this occasion, however, something different was about to happen. The shuttle van passed the in-your-face b...
What a curious thing among collectors, the tendency to value imperfection, error, and mistake over perfection. This is especially true of those who collect postage stamps, currency, and coinage. A much higher value is found in those few items among the millions of others that are the exception to the rule, the abnormal, the unique. With postage stamps, errors are of three general categories: misprints, misperfs and non-perfs. Misprints are just that, printing efforts that fall short, are...
The process of hardening off plants is integral to the success of transplanted garden stock. Gradually introducing plants to an outdoor environment is key. Hardening exposes plants to the true conditions that they are expected to thrive under: wind, humidity, wind, high and low temperatures, wind, direct sunshine and of course wind. It takes patience and a little time — perhaps a week or so — for garden and bedding plants to harden off. The result is worth the wait. When we were growing up in...
