In a first this blog just allowed the internet to swallow what I was writing for the day. No trace is left. And I am just too tired to start over. I suppose it is a sign of wisdom and maturity to know when to just admit defeat and head off to bed.  “While one may encounter many defeats, one must not be defeated.”― Maya Angelou I encountered a defeat tonight, but I am far from defeated! “Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure.”― George E. Woodberry And I DID try!

There is a good reason why I remember Alan G. as the guy who put his jock on backwards.  It was the first day of 7th grade. My classmates and I were at the junior high now – a building much bigger and more intimidating than any of the grade schools we had previously attended. And one of the scariest things in my anxious 13 year old brain was gym class. Unlike grade school, the junior high had a locker room. And for 7th grade gym class all the students had to physically change into gym clothes at the beginning…

Things I can’t remember: Things I can remember: His name was Alan G.* And the jock thing is absolutely the only thing I recall about him.  (* I actually remember his full name, but I didn’t want to write it out here in case he ever does a Google search. Can you imagine searching your own name and finding out that this incident was still “out there” and now has its own little page on the world wide web 40 years later?)

It has become very fashionable in the U.S. in recent years to criticize capitalism as an economic system – the endemic greed and self-interest. I think such criticism can be useful to a certain degree, as a counterbalance to the many folks on the right who have held capitalism so sacrosanct that NONE of its weaknesses or abuses can even be acknowledged, much less addressed.  I say let’s hear the criticism. It will help keep capitalism’s excesses in check.  I’ve been wondering lately, though, with all the harsh judgment of capitalism as an economic system, why democracy as a governing…

I spent the day in Indianapolis at a teacher training session about how to include students with learning disabilities more fully in the general education classes of schools.  So we spent a lot of time talking about how each class of the school day should be designed in such a way to meet ALL the needs of EVERY student. (And it was good and useful stuff, don’t get me wrong.) Along about mid-afternoon, in a brief aside, the presenter bemoaned the fact that we expect students to sit through 7 or 8 different subjects every day.  I think she called…

I realized long ago that I don’t have to worry about hearing God’s voice when I am at a crossroad, fearing I might miss what God would direct.  What I realized was this: God knows me so well that he knows exactly how to get my attention, exactly what will catch my ear. If I am sincere in wanting to know God’s direction for my life, I can be confident he will get through to me clearly. God made us as unique creatures, so this differs for each person. I don’t know how God chooses to speak to you, but…

During one long stretch of yesterday’s drive to New Jersey, I began to contemplate my recent deep funk and, of course, revisited the question of whether it was based on circumstances or genuine depression.  And then I had this weird thought and it’s kind of hard to describe, but I will put it this way: maybe my funk is due to neither circumstances nor chemical imbalances but, rather, is a result of my current experience being out of sync with “what was supposed to be”. It’s like I am living in an alternate timeline where my spirit feels completely out…