Presence: Experiencing the Nearness of God

I start my Friday with the evocative instrumental music of Explosions in the Sky. Later in the morning I witness a beautiful sunrise from my classroom window.

I'm almost through the two seasons of HBOs Westworld and Im thinking of stories and the narrative loops the robots on that show follow. No spoilers for the show here.

I return to the classroom and talk with my students about the incident with the Catholic school boys at the Lincoln Memorial. We explore many take aways and learning points.

I enjoy my scented mist maker and my crackling wick candle as I reflect on MLK and his vision of the Beloved Community and how it is so relevant today. I will be using it as a teaching focus for my classes tomorrow.

On MLK Day I partipate in a community breakfast and am inspired and challenged by the keynote speaker. More info comes out about the boys behaving badly in D.C. And I reflect on how the adults monitoring the kids should be held accountable for poor leadership and wrong judgment.

It's my birthday and I enjoy a quiet and restful day as it is frigid outside. I feel gratitude in celebrating my life today!!!

I respond to the shocking video of the white boys taunting the Native American elder with concern, compassion and hope that this will be a "teaching moment" for us all.

I learn cool things about cheese and whether or not the Ancient Israelites ate cheese.. Listen and learn something new too!

I have some fun with AI generated "inspirational" quotes and reflect on how even apparently wise statements can be created by Artificial Intelligence

I host a set of matches for my In The Know (Quiz Bowl) team and welcome other teams. It goes well even though I'm not felling 100%

I have a cold for the first time in a long while. And like in Episode #59 - my car breaks down in the same place!

I am angry about the ongoing, shameful record-breaking shutdown. So I wrote a prayer I'm offering in each of my classes until it ends.

I am brought to tears hearing "Let Them Come to the Water" sung in mass today. I think about God's call to me to welcome those who come seeking asylum thirsting for peace and safety.

It is the first significant snow fall of the winter and I am reminded of how beautiful a still ❄️ covered field is.

I tell my students the 2,400 year old allegory of The Cave as written by Plato and I enjoy live music at the winery and realize how different live music is compared to recorded music.

The U.S. Catholic Bishops ask us to learn about, pray for and serve migrants and refugees.

I am struck with much gratitude and deep awe and wonder as I talk with my son during dinner.

I share my increasing sadness about how much fear is motivating the story that Trump is telling about the Southern Border. I share short stories about my transformative time spent years ago south of the US border in Tijuana, Mexico.

I tell my classes a parable by Peter Rollins about radical hospitality. And we talk about the symbol of a wall which is keeping out government still closed.

I record on the 7th about what I took away from the homily I heard in church on Epiphany Sunday.

A friend at the winery asked my what my podcast is about. In this episode I explain the two quotes about God which a underneath all I am trying to do with these daily reflections.

I go an visit with a friend today and am able to serve him my helping with a web site and he also served me by listening and offering support.

My brother-in-law gives us a gift that we watched together a PBS film called "Sacred: Milestones of a Spiritual Life"

I connect with a gentleman at the post office who has much on his mind today.

I take a few moments on the first day of 2019 to reflect back on the podcast which I recorded for every day of 2018.