#10 3 rules to live by, according to my CPE instructor:
1) Show up.
2) Do no harm.
3) Try to do some good.

#9 “You’ve got to remember, they’re the best [name] they can be…even though that [name] is the shitty little [name] that you’ve been dealing with.” —a beautiful call to compassion from a very wise aunt

#8 “Spiritual practices in any tradition…are meant to help you live what is yours to live, not make you rise above it…They’re meant to give you a tiny bit of breathing room inside what is wholly unbearable. That’s not at all the same thing as making your pain go away” (Devine, 50)

…you are, the person you were, and the person this loss will have you become” (Megan Devine, “It’s Okay that You’re Not Okay,” 63).

#7 On reimagining grief: “I know you didn’t mean to be part of the revolution. I know you’d gladly give all this up just to have your old life back. It isn’t a fair trade. And we need you. We need you to claim your right to be supported in ways that honor the person…

I apologize for the misnumbering. Three master’s degrees, but still can’t count.

#6 Our Día de los Muertos ofrenda for the best girl, who passed earlier this week. QEPD, Tovka— every now and then I’ll throw up a prayer to Our Lady of Perpetual Confusion.

#5 “A mature theological reflection cheerfully admits it is provisional. ‘For now, this is the best I can do,’ says a mature theologian. ‘But by the generosity of God’s Spirit, I hope to have a better insight tomorrow.” —Leanne Van Dyk, “Growing Up Theologically”

#5 “To expose injustices may cause division and pain; but to ignore injustices will result in the destruction of the church as an instrument of God’s will.” —Katie Geneva Cannon, paraphrasing Lloyd Green

Like, all of us. Get in, loser, we’re going to get better.

#4 Just wrapped up a theological conversation on the sending of the church with several black colleagues. My conclusion: white people, collectively, have gotta go to therapy.

#3 Yesterday my #therapist asked if she could take off her therapist hat and just talk to me as a black woman, and it was one of the most moving displays of vulnerability I’ve ever seen, especially as someone who struggles so mightily with accepting his own embodiment.

Empire promotes the lie that we live in a paradigm of scarcity, that “more for you” means “less for me.” The βασιλέα of God is one of abundance, though— something to think about this election season.

#2 From my Greek exegesis prof, talking on Mark 7:24-30: “the woman’s response suggests that the children in v. 28 are intentionally dropping food scraps because of their relationship with the dogs...the dogs aren’t stealing from the children, but want to share a meal with them.”

#1 “If angels flew low enough, we’d probably eat them, too.” My family can be a weird and challenging place for a seminary student.

Already whizzed one by the post, less than 3 minutes in. I’m ready to co-sign this prediction.