Personal expressions of the world around us through text, sight and sound.


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You can narrow your search using one or all of six criteria:

  1. Article Scope:
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    • NOTE: Based on the number of articles found and other filter settings, the Date Scope may be adjusted automatically. However, in most cases you can still use the form to choose a specific range.
  3. Author--regular contributors are listed by name; "special" is used for ocassional or one-time authors. (They are idenitified by name in the article list using a "byline" field in the database).
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    Even though we try to keep the number of topics limited and as general as possible, the list of topics is long and constantly growing simply because of the wide scope of content covered by aritcles on the site. A good alternative to using the drop-down list is to click on a topic from the Summary View of the Article List, or the category and topic summary at the top of an Article.
    NOTE: Because topics are added over time, some topics may not be associated with earlier articles to which they could apply. From time to time, we update category and topic links.
  6. Keywords
    Looks for a word, phrase or part of a word in the component parts of the article.

Viewing the Results

In addition to the "Most Recent" and "Top Articles" lists, there are three Views of the searchable Article List: (where you are now):

  1. Quick. Shows Categories in alphabetical order, with a list of articles by post date (most recent first), title, author. This is the default view. Return to it anytime by selecting "Clear Filter" in the Article Filter.
  2. Minimal. Shows a list of Categories in which articles for this collection appear, including the number of articles in each category. Activate this view by clicking on "View Category names only" under the gray view description bar.
  3. Summary. Expands a single Category to include a brief description of each article, the primary category, and any topics assigned to it.

Actions from the Article List

  • Click on an Article title to view it.
    • A link at the bottom of the article will bring you back to this page.
    • If you have expanded the Collection Scope to All, and view an article or blog entry outside this collection, the return link will take you to the corresponding "home" page. To return to this page, use the Back button in your browser or use the Site Menu.
  • Click on a Category name to expand the list into Summary View, which will include more detals about the articles within that Category, including the topics associated with it.
    • If you have selected "All" in the Article Scope, the initial Summary View will reset the Article Scope to "This Collection only." From there, you can go back to "All" if desired.
  • Click on a Topic name (Summary View) to see recent articles associated with that topic. From there you can expand to "All" articles or narrow the search using the Filter.
    • There are some categories that also appear as topics. In this case, the filter will set the topic, since that will return the greatest number of results. From there, you can modify the Search Filter to narrow your search.

Actions from the Article (listing of Categories and Topics at top of Article)

  • Click on the Category or a Topic and you will be taken to the Article List page with the search filter set accordingly. (The notes under Article List also apply here).

Printing the List or individual Articles

Using Print this page at the upper left will print the content displayed in the Articles List or an individual Article, without any of the surrounding page elements. The filter form in the list view is replaced with a summary of the filter settings.

Please note: Using the "Print this page" option is highly recommended over the print options available through the Share utility (described below).

Additional Hint: On some smaller devices you may find it helpful to use the Print option to display a simpler content-only view. Depending on the device, you may not actually be able to print, but it may produce a view that is easier to read. You will need to close the print window to get back to the site navigation.

Sharing and Commenting on Article Lists and Individual Articles

There is a lot of discussion about the merits of commenting within a site. At this time we have decided not to integrate it into the site. The AddThis Share utility that appears at the upper left on the page as well as at the end of articles allows you to share the selected page through Facebook, Twitter, and more than 200 other social media services. Most of these options allow you to add comments.

You can also comment through the site's own social media connections, which are linked through the icons in the site masthead (only active social media accounts are shown).


21 articles found.

SUMMARY VIEW  Expanded details within a Category. Click on article title, Category, or a listed Topic

To change sort order or make another search, modify the form above

Faith, Religion & Spirituality

 2 records found

Thanks to Lutherans I Skipped Ballet by Garrison Keillor


(March 16, 2023)
The question I ask myself is, 'Do people of color really and truly wish to enlist in this army?'' It isn't just a religious faith, it's a culture…
Topics: Arts & Entertainment • Attitudes • Beliefs • Faith • Lifestyle, General • Religion


A Holy Week to Remember by James N. Watkins


(April 4, 2020)
Celebrating life in Christ in deadly crisis…
Topics: COVID-19 • Crisis • Current Events, News • Easter • Faith • News • Religion



General

 1 record found

We Must Become Children So Our Kids Can Survive by Garrison Keillor


(November 2, 2023)
The classic story: the elders make a desperate choice to spare their children the grief of history and put language and life story behind and become as children themselves in order to start anew…
Topics: Attitudes • Beliefs • Character, Integrity • Choices and Decision Making • Contemplation, Insight • Parenting, Parents • Politics • Religion • Trends



Government & Politics

 3 records found

Sitting in the Sixth Pew, Brooding on Things by Garrison Keillor


(October 27, 2022)
I thought of my grandpa Denham when I took the train to Washington last week, a city he wanted to see and never did. I go to Washington to remind myself what a beautiful city it is despite the contempt brought upon it by so many elected officials…
Topics: Contemplation, Insight • Faith • Government • Politics • Religion


Divided by Politics by James N. Watkins


(October 30, 2020)
What would Jesus say to a Church divided by politics?…
Topics: Christian Life • Civility • Current Events, News • Dysfunctional, Broken • Jesus • Politics • Religion • Social Issues • Voting & Elections


Taking the Election Personally by George Garrison


(October 29, 2020)
A call for humility and grace…
Topics: Character, Integrity • Charity • Christian Life • Civility • COVID-19 • Grace • Politics • Religion • Social Issues • Voting & Elections



Holidays

 5 records found

Mr. Patrick is Not Happy by James N. Watkins


(March 15, 2024)
I’m guessing that St. Patrick is not exactly happy with the celebration of his day.…
Topics: History • Holidays • Humor • Religion


Mr. Patrick Would Not Be Happy by James N. Watkins


(March 17, 2022)
I’m guessing that St. Patrick is not exactly happy with the celebration of his day.…
Topics: History • Holidays • Religion


Hope and Humor and Halloween 2021 by James N. Watkins


(October 22, 2021)
Jim's annual look at really creepy stuff…
Topics: Faith • Fears, Concerns • Halloween • Holidays • Hopes & Dreams • Humor • Memories • Religion • Social Issues


Indpendence Day Q&A by James N. Watkins


(July 2, 2020)
A not-so-trivial quiz about July 4 and the Founding Fathers…
Topics: Beliefs • Freedom • God • Government • History • Holidays • July 4 (U.S. Independence Day) • Patriotism • Religion • Spirituality, Seeking God • Values


Happy Real St. Patrick's Day by James N. Watkins


(March 10, 2020)
So you think you know St. Patrick…
Topics: History • Holidays • Religion



Life Events

 2 records found

Sing On, Dance On, Good Eye, Ain't You Happy by Garrison Keillor


(September 21, 2023)
I may be the only person in the ballpark who remembers the fall day in 1969 when Rod Carew got on base with a double, took a big lead, stole third, and the fans sat transfixed in silence, knowing he might do it, wishing he'd do it, and then…
Topics: Baseball • History • Memories • Religion • Travel


The Beauty of a Bitterly Cold Sunday Morning, 8 AM by Garrison Keillor


(February 2, 2023)
The world is a mess but dread gets us nowhere so cheer up and then go do what you were put here to do…
Topics: Attitudes • Faith • Memories • Relationships • Religion • Wisdom



Nature

 1 record found

Imagine . . . then Consider by Stu Johnson


(June 15, 2015)
Imagine how the world we live in could have been, and then consider the wonders that are there…
Topics: God • Nature • Religion • Science & Technology



News & Current Events

 5 records found

Sitting Scared in Church, Thinking About Evil by Garrison Keillor


(March 17, 2022)
America has been so fascinated with our own circus, we didn’t fully appreciate true evil and now here’s Putin taking his place with Lenin and Stalin…
Topics: Crisis • Faith • News • Politics • Religion • War


Responding to the Afghan Airport Terrorist Attack by James N. Watkins


(August 27, 2021)
How CAN we respond to such a heinous attack?…
Topics: Comfort & Consolation • Compassion • Coping • Dying and Death • Faith • Loss & Grieving • News • Religion • Terrorism


Racism and Religion by Rusty Wright


(April 23, 2021)
Sanctified bigotry, or unity and diversity solutions?…
Topics: Christian Life • Faith • Grace • News • Racism and Inequality • Relationships • Religion • Social Issues • Trust • Unity, Unified • Values


Earth and Heaven by James N. Watkins


(October 2, 2020)
What it means to me to be a citizen of both…
Topics: Beliefs • COVID-19 • Crisis • Current Events, News • Faith • Government • Language, Meaning • News • Religion • Social Issues • Social Movements


Destroy or Be Constructive by Bill Nichols


(June 7, 2020)
More than ever, the church needs to follow Jesus' example…
Topics: Civility • Compassion • Crime, Justice, Punishment • Discipleship • Faith • Jesus • Racism and Inequality • Religion • Social Issues • Trust • Values



Relationships

 1 record found

The B-I-B-L-E and LGBTQ by James N. Watkins


(February 16, 2019)
Addressing he issue with truth and grace…
Topics: Bible • Character, Integrity • Choices and Decision Making • God • Jesus • Lifestyle, General • Love • Relationships • Religion • Social Issues • Social Movements • Trends



Travel

 1 record found

Sunday Morning, Back in the Fourth Pew by Garrison Keillor


(August 24, 2023)
I got up at 5 a.m. and hiked over to the South Rim and stood in the dark in the midst of strangers as the eastern sky lightened and it was like church except no singing and no handshakes…
Topics: Beauty • Beliefs • Contemplation, Insight • Contentment, Satsifaction • Faith • Nature • Religion • Worship