Life in General - brucewriter

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Life in General

A collection of 15 posts

Life in General

Asking God to Leave ... and to Stay

Let me ask you an obvious question: do you pray in your church services? OK, too easy. Here's a tougher one: do you expect anything to happen? And here's the toughest one: what if something happened, and it seemed to be tied to a certain one

Life in General

Interesting moment in Sunday worship

So there I was, singing away on some hymn like I usually do, glad that it had four verses 'cause that meant that I could try to sing all four parts (not at once, although some claim I try that too), when a thought crossed my mind:

Life in General

A Book for Artists and Humans of All Kinds

Just finished The War of Art [http://home.stevenpressfield.com/books/war_art.asp] by Steven Pressfield. It's a book about the struggle to create art, to live to our higher calling, and to be and become what we are intended to be. And it has entered a very select category for me: Books That Changed M

Life in General

Brothers and Sisters: The Vertical and the Horizontal

("Brothers and Sisters" is the weekly prayer-and-share diary on Daily Kos where community members share their burdens and needs, and support one another. I was the host for tonight's edition, and worked for some hours on it once I got home from church. Unfortunately, somehow my draft version got los

Life in General

Live Like A Cat

(reflections on a cat on concrete outside a shop in Swansboro, NC) I think there are many life lessons to be gained by observing cats.

Life in General

Changing

For most of my life, I have been seen as an extrovert, by myself and by others. A big "E" on the Myers-Briggs. A Sanguine on the personality types. Comfortable on stage, anxious to be in front, wanting to lead, with a strong need for attention and, I hoped, approval. Loud, boisterous, story-telling,

Life in General

A Comment on Lost Friendships

Have you ever had a friendship come to an end, and no matter what you do, you can't find out why? I have, and it's frustrating.

Life in General

Life As Gift, Live As Gift

Sometimes, when you least expect it, grace breaks in. Sunday night was the Four Churches concert that our church participates in each fall. Having finished my small handbell contribution (we accompanied the first hymn), I sat down to enjoy the rest of the concert. As I looked around the beautiful

Life in General

My Dad versus Liz Trotta

My dad was a journalist. He was a number of other things as well: son of a preacher, high-school boxer, WWII volunteer, medic during the war, concentration camp liberator. Journalism student at U of Missouri. Reporter, columnist, editor. But above all, he was a journalist -- a "newspaperman," as he

Life in General

Two Sunday Morning Blessings

Some of my friends and readers know that one of my lives is that of a musician. It's interesting how compartmentalized our lives are; many of my co-workers have no idea of this part of me, or of my long history in making and directing music. (And

Life in General

My Tribute to Molly Ivins

(Posted at the Texas Observer, her "home" paper) I envy all you people in Texas. No, really, I do. You got to know Molly for many years, while I only discovered her when I read "Shrub" for the first time in 2000. It's funny

Life in General

Have a Very Merry, Horribly Conflicted Christmas

(Cross-posted at DailyKos and at Street Prophets) I have always loved Christmas: the decorations, the special services at church, the parties, the time off. When I was young, the gifts were part of the attraction, but over time getting gifts has become much less important than giving them. One

Life in General

Pastor Speaks Out on Walmart

(cross-posted at Daily Kos) Our church, and our pastor, are serious about two things: inviting people into the love and acceptance of God, and confronting injustice as the opportunity presents itself. So when Dr. Joseph Phelps of Highland Baptist in Louisville was contacted by the WakeUpWalmart folks and asked

Life in General

Courage to Write, Courage to Speak

I've been re-reading an important book in my life, The Courage to Write by Ralph Keyes. The basic premise, of course, is that fear in all its infinite variety is part and parcel of writing, and that the act of writing is itself an act of courage.

Life in General

A Paean to Small Joys

Let us sing the praises of small joys, of everyday joys, of the little blessings so often missed and ignored: -- Of independent coffeehouses, in old buildings with wooden floors, with classical music playing on the CD player and young people with dreadlocks behind the counter. -- Of independent bookstores right next