Saturday This and That

This morning Laurie and I picked up some coffee and bagels and went down to the bay at a place called Spring Point. Sunshine, sailboats, people walking their dogs. We whiled a lovely hour away talking about the things of the Spirit.

We talked about the problem we all have in loving each other. In loving, and in receiving love. It's the problem we're born into, the problem we all spend our lives trying to solve. We talked also about the need for "crying out to God," the need for brokenness. Do you remember when you were broken? When your heart cried out in unpremeditated longing. That was your holiest moment, your "drawing near" to God. That was your purity of heart.

Oh, yes, and the bagels were just fine.

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Just read The Five People You Meet in Heaven. What a lovely book. A book about desperation. A book about, yes, the trouble we have loving one another. I know that World Magazine said that it was dripping with cliches, but while it's true that the author's frequent stabs at "wisdom sayings" often fall short, the story itself is wiser than its wisdom, if you know what I mean. I highly recommend it.

I've also been reading, and am nearly finished with, Washington's Crossing, by David Hackett Fischer. What a remarkable story that is. This book recreates not only the absolutely harrowing "crossing," but the three significant military engagements which followed. It's difficult to read this book without being awed by the character, the moral stature, of George Washington, and the incredible bravery of the men who fought under him.