The joys and horrors of sight

I can see clearly now the rain is gone. I can see all obstacles in my way. Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind. It's gonna be a bright, bright, sunshiny day. I Can See Clearly Now by Jimmy Cliff (popularized by Johnny Nash in 1972)Today I paid a visit to my retina doctor and now I'm ... Continue reading

Finding joy

“It is hard to talk about joy. … When my leg hurts I can talk about it. I have a lot of words to describe how much it hurts. When it doesn’t hurt I don’t think about it. When I am well I don’t talk about it. My language is limited. My language is much more elaborate for anxiety than for joy.” – ... Continue reading

Training for endurance

“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing ... Continue reading

Joy

Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord's glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. "Don't be afraid!" he said. "I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people." — Luke 2:9,10, NLT He called her a vile name, and ... Continue reading

Encouraging discouragement

Politics is fueled by discontent. In every election season, we Americans — the world's most prosperous and pampered people — take our complaints to the ballot box.It's the nature of a democratic community that our collective unhappiness drives us to build something better. Like the oyster ... Continue reading

Jambalaya joy

Goodbye Joe, me gotta go, me oh my oh Me gotta go pole the pirogue down the bayou My Yvonne, the sweetest one, me oh my oh Son of a gun, we'll have good fun on the bayou — Jambalaya (On the bayou), Hank Williams I love Louisiana Cajun music. Zydeco is high energy dancehall music, full of ... Continue reading

In times like these

And then the dispossessed were drawn west—from Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico; from Nevada and Arkansas, families, tribes, dusted out, tractored out. Car-loads, caravans, homeless and hungry; twenty thousand and fifty thousand and a hundred thousand and two hundred thousand. They streamed over ... Continue reading

The speech of angels

Music is well said to be the speech of angels; in fact, nothing among the utterances allowed to man is felt to be so divine. It brings us near to the infinite. —Thomas Carlyle Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent. —Victor Hugo Music is a ... Continue reading