A moving story on NPR's web site

There is a great story on NPR's website about a man who actually did the "offering your coat" thing, as in the New Testament:

He was walking toward the stairs when a teenage boy approached and pulled out a knife.

"He wants my money, so I just gave him my wallet and told him, 'Here you go,'" Diaz says.

As the teen began to walk away, Diaz told him, "Hey, wait a minute. You forgot something. If you're going to be robbing people for the rest of the night, you might as well take my coat to keep you warm."

Pictures in a Bible

I've found a new blog, First Born Stories, by a Christian Arab-American that makes interesting reading. In one post, he talks about discovering a picture of a Middle Eastern looking man in an old Bible at a used bookstore, and says that there is a tradition of putting pictures in your Bible of people you are praying for.

I think this is a moving idea, and gives me the idea for a different kind of Commonplace Book; where I can keep track of friends, family, and even strangers in the news, that I need to hold in the light.

A Native American mystic

Next time I'm home I'll get the quote, but there is an astonishing passage in a Puritan diary I have that describes a Native American mystic who tries to purify the religion of his people, and also discourage alchohol use.

Irritability Quotient

My IQ was high yesterday. That's my Irritability, not my Intelligence. I've been on a low carb diet to lose weight, which is working, but I have not started any kind of relaxation, meditation, centering, calming practice to address my grouchiness.

Sandwiches

The Meeting I visited yesterday has a project where young Friends make sandwiches once a month for a shelter.

Inner Lightning, or Inner Lightening

This is silly, but it occurred to me to think about these names for the blog. "Lightning" sounds sort of scary and dramatic; probably most people wouldn't want the sort of epiphany Inner Lightning suggests, at least not more than a few times in their life. Inner Lightening though seems like something I need all the time.

Girardian Reflections on the Lectionary

I think I've mentioned this on this site before. The web site Girardian Reflections on the Lectionary
has wonderful (somewhat academic sounding, but still wonderful) meditations on the Bible, non-violence, and theology based on the thinking of Rene Girard.

This morning a passage on imitating Christ struck me. As long as we imitate our neighbors, we will be mired in conflict.

I am thinking about how internet addiction, which I have fairly badly, is a stumbling block for me. Is internet browsing a search for rumor, fashion, the latest human models to imitate?