COFFEE BREAK 338

+ updated at 12:52pm ESDT on Wednesday, June 20, 2012

+The Theological Wanderings of a Street Pastor offers "Religious Liberalism 101: A Book Review of Paul Rasor’s ‘Faith Without Certainty’"

+ I am taking a Spirituality and Practice ecourse on Practicing the Presence of God.  Here is what I shared today in the Practice forum:

2 Corinthians 12 is one of the great peaks of the Bible. Read it all when you get a chance. I was required to preach a sermon to my Presbytery before ordination in 1975. This was my text and it has always been close to my heart.

I think it's all about TRUST ... trusting the process ... trusting the here and now at all times, at this time, all the time ... trusting everything to work out beautifully, wondrously, miraculously, naturally. The Heavenly Council is working for us night and day. Now is the time to surrender, to rest in the "peace which passes all understanding," the sufficient grace which is offered so freely "not as the world gives" but in the mysterious and marvelous way heaven gives ... unconditional Love ... unlimited Love... uniting Love ... amazing Grace.

Breathe deeply. Breathe fully. Be still. Be silent. Be centered. Be grounded. Lighten up. Loosen up. Let go. Let God. Celebrate. Enjoy. Be glad all over!

+ Not yet 90 BUT the high humidity makes it feel like its 96 already (12:12pm). You could see how high it goes today at http://www.wunderground.com/US/NY/Whitesboro.html?bannertypeclick=bigwx

+ Almost 90 out now at noon.

+ As I just said (below), Shuck and Jive is always fascinating and provocative.  Read today's post.

+ I have to go inside now (11:44am ESDT).  It has been nice to be outside but the heat is starting to get unbearable for a Norwegian-American like me!

+ A lot has been happening (of course) since I last blogged here. Among other things ...

• Family and friends gathered in Durham, Cary and Chapel Hill, North Carolina in late May for a memorial service for my dad who died in on March 27, 7 weeks before he would have turned 100.  He was born on May 21, 1912.
• Mary, my wife, suffered a concussion during a short bus ride taking the University of Rochester Nursing School faculty to graduation at Eastman Hall on May 19.  Recovery has been slow and frustrating.  The symptoms seem to be lessening but she still has some bad days. 

+ The Theological Wanderings of a Street Pastor offers "The Garden of Your Mind" by J. Barrett Lee. Barrett likes being a posthumous colleague of Mr. Rogers.  I have always liked being in that company too, the company of fellow Presbyterian pastors.  I particularly like those who "think outside the box" as Fred Rogers did and Barrett does.  And, oh yes, John Shuck comes to mind, too.  Shuck and Jive is always fascinating and provocative.

+ Spirituality and Practice offers "Are We Living in Sensory Overload or Sensory Poverty?" by Mary Ann and Frederic Brussat.