Dearest Rachel – This morning – although when it’s this dark, if feels strange to call it such, even if this is just the way things are in the winter – as I got up and braced myself to head out to the gym, it occurred to me that the folks didn’t bother to askContinue reading “The Questions That Go Unasked”
Tag Archives: needs
The Lists We Still Need to Deal With
Dearest Rachel – Well, it’s just how things work in the American holiday calendar, I suppose. We no sooner get through with one that, by name and nature, reminds us to be both content and grateful for what we have, than we begin on the one whose whole purpose seems to be the diametric oppositeContinue reading “The Lists We Still Need to Deal With”
For What May Never Come
Dearest Rachel – A trip to the grocery store after dinner with the folks, while unusual in and of itself (most of the time, we just go home, and Daniel joins Logan in the family room to watch this or that anime that he has already in progress), isn’t entirely unsurprising. Sometimes things need toContinue reading “For What May Never Come”
Pretending Everything Is Normal
Dearest Rachel – The last few overseas trips I’ve taken have started off with a ride to the airport first thing in the morning, or even in the wee hours, prompting me to wake up absurdly early in order to catch my flight. Not so today; with the flight scheduled for four in the afternoon,Continue reading “Pretending Everything Is Normal”
The Long Road Back to Normal
Dearest Rachel – No, I’m not talking about taking a road trip back to our old collegiate stomping grounds. Apart from a meal at Avanti’s, there’s little reason to do so (and even that is hardly compelling, given the distance and time to get there and back. It violates all of my rules regarding travelContinue reading “The Long Road Back to Normal”
from Rachel: The Record of the Maccabees
[Antiochus IV Epiphanies] wanted [the Jews] Hellenized, not just in spite of their wishes to the contrary, but because of them. Please read Daniel 8:9-10 carefully. Using the same figurative language, record what the one fulfilling this prophecy would do. “throw some of the starry host down to earth and trample them” To what doContinue reading “from Rachel: The Record of the Maccabees”
The Right to My Day
Dearest Rachel – I don’t think that I’ll ever fully comprehend the ‘gym rat’ mentality – nor, as I’m sure you would expect, do I wish to; to do so would be to become one, and for all the desirable effects, there are more than enough adverse ones, primarily having to do with attitude, thatContinue reading “The Right to My Day”
Returning from the Woods
Dearest Rachel – As she attempts to recover from her unplanned tryst with Prince Charming late in the second half of Into the Woods, the Baker’s Wife sings “back to life, back to home, back to child, back to husband… you can’t live in the woods.” Of course she doesn’t get back to all thoseContinue reading “Returning from the Woods”
I Don’t Think I Try Sometimes…
Dearest Rachel – I’ve said enough about Memorial Day festivities for one year (at least!) already, honey, so I’ll set the day itself aside for now. I will say that getting together at Jeanette and Ramón’s place is still a little surreal. It’s like attending a family reunion where I’m not actually a part ofContinue reading “I Don’t Think I Try Sometimes…”
When the People Are Dying
Dearest Rachel – This is definitely not one of the tunes we swapped between us when we were courting after I graduated from college, but it’s true that at least one of Tonio K’s songs was in that lineup. This one has way too much social commentary to be considered a love song, to sayContinue reading “When the People Are Dying”
Are Things Not Satisfactory?
Dearest Rachel – There’s an old joke about a child who, for the first few years of his life, appeared to be completely mute, much to the consternation of his parents. They took him to doctors and specialists, who couldn’t find anything wrong with his vocal cords or his neural connections. Eventually, they gave upContinue reading “Are Things Not Satisfactory?”
That One Person to Shop For
Dearest Rachel – It’s just under two weeks before Christmas, and for the most part, I’m feeling pretty good about having everyone on my gift list taken care of, or at least under control, as there’s one purchase I’m waiting on until the last minute, for the sake of freshness. However, in the midst ofContinue reading “That One Person to Shop For”
from Rachel: The Lord Bless You
Reflect on your own experience of going face down [before God]. Did it have any impact on you? “yes” If so, describe how it affected you. “It helped me focus my entire attention on him rather than have my mind wandering as I tried to pray.” How have you grown as a worshiper and psalmistContinue reading “from Rachel: The Lord Bless You”
For the Ones Who Have…
Dearest Rachel – There are plenty of luxury items that bill themselves as gift possibilities “for the man (or woman) who has everything.” Heck, there are entire shopping locales that are built to hawk such wares, most of which strike me as being geared for those with more money than sense, in my humble opinion.Continue reading “For the Ones Who Have…”
To Talk to Him as I Should
Dearest Rachel – I honestly forget which service I was at this weekend where I heard about it, but one of the pastors I listened to described a cartoon of God, sitting at an ornate cloudy desk, as might be found in a heavenly office. One’s focus wasn’t so much on Him and what HeContinue reading “To Talk to Him as I Should”
Needing Nothing
Dearest Rachel – The morning I woke up to was gray and dark; apart from the fact that a sufficient amount of time had passed that I was ready to get up (indeed, at nearly half past six, it was already later than usual for me), I could have easily slept in quite a bitContinue reading “Needing Nothing”
Does it Count When You’re Already There?
Dearest Rachel – Mom and Dad would often talk about our first family cruise that we took back in 1999. Dad and his cousin Dennis had helped organize a trip with the entire extended family, a few years prior, and for arranging that much business, when we got to Vancouver, we were upgraded to roomsContinue reading “Does it Count When You’re Already There?”
Blood Signal
Dearest Rachel – Well, this turned out to be something of a shaggy dog story; one of those things that get started, meanders about a bit, and finally resolves without much actual participation on my part. But it’s something that doesn’t happen every day – even (especially?) on a cruise ship –so I might as wellContinue reading “Blood Signal”
Am I Missing Anything?
Dearest Rachel – I wonder if this trip would have driven you crazy; the answer to the above question is, of course I am. I’ve limited myself to a single suitcase (which itself is limited to fifty pounds) as well as my electronic items in my carry-on backpack (while the suitcase Kerry and the travel agencyContinue reading “Am I Missing Anything?”
Don’t Make Him Tap the Sign
Dearest Rachel – It’s said that there are no such things as coincidences; only moments in which God decides, for whatever reason, not to sign His name to events. We’ve had a few of them in our time, such as that one major windfall shortly after catching up on our pledges to a certain missionaryContinue reading “Don’t Make Him Tap the Sign”
(Not) In the Mood
Dearest Rachel – I woke up this morning to a bedroom as dark as it ever gets, given that it has three walls with windows on them, and the outside light (such as it is) can always seep in. It was earlier than I needed to be awake, that seemed certain; and sure enough, whenContinue reading “(Not) In the Mood”
Seeing The Resemblance
Dearest Rachel – So, last night, the girls were over for what felt like the first time in a long time. Yes, we’d gotten together just last week – hadn’t we? It somehow feels longer than that – but it’s been ages since we just assembled at the house to eat and watch stuff togetherContinue reading “Seeing The Resemblance”
Testosterone Blues
Dearest Rachel – There’s an old joke that I remember only vaguely – I’m probably going to get most of the details wrong, but as long as the setup and punchline are intact it shouldn’t matter – about a fellow my age or maybe older, who’s worried about feeling his age. He tells his friend,Continue reading “Testosterone Blues”
Wants vs Needs
Dearest Rachel – This morning found me awake before five, for reasons unknown. While I could stand to shed a layer of bedding, and perhaps use the facilities, nothing seemed so urgent as to demand my consciousness at such a ridiculous hour. Still, once awake (however reluctantly), I felt that I needed to take careContinue reading “Wants vs Needs”
Preparations and Purchases
Dearest Rachel – You were instructing me to help you out in finding a protective screen for your touchscreen computer, as you were planning on taking it with on our travels. You seemed to be looking forward to the trip. For my part, I didn’t know how to react to your request. I hadn’t intendedContinue reading “Preparations and Purchases”
Going Sideways
Dearest Rachel – I have a feeling that the old boy is starting to lose it. Just this past Monday, I brought him inside from his morning constitutional, set him down on his blanket, got him his water, and set to preparing his food. When I finished with it, I placed it down on theContinue reading “Going Sideways”
Letters to Rachel 