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So far Adam has created 428 blog entries.

Follow You, My Jesus

“I am a Christian.”  More than two billion people on this planet might say those words.  But, of course, we don’t all mean the same thing when we say them.  With the help of a song, I explain a little bit about what I mean when I say them.

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That’s close to the core of what being a Christian means to me: choosing to follow the way of Jesus.  (Sheet music for the hymn “Follow You, My Jesus” is available from the Free Stuff page on this web site.)

It’s an oddly contentious matter, this word “Christian.”  I’ve had people get really angry with me because my definition differs from theirs.  But I won’t get angry, I promise, if yours differs from mine.  So, what about you?  Do you call yourself a Christian?  Why or why not?

 

2016-02-08T13:20:39-06:00February 8, 2016|0 Comments

The Stars Sing Out Your Song of Joy

I’m not naturally a joyful person.  (Just ask my wife: she says I’m more often broody and intense.)  But there’s is great song of joy going on all around us, and sometimes, I just have to chime in.

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(Sheet music for the hymn “The Stars Sing Out Your Song of Joy” is available from the Free Stuff page on this web site.)

2016-02-01T14:33:22-06:00February 1, 2016|0 Comments

When I Hunger

I’ve been thinking about the deep connection between our physical longings and our spiritual longings — between our physical joys and our spiritual joys.  In this issue of The Merry Mystic, I share a new hymn that rejoices in that connection.  Then I talk about the missing verse: a verse I didn’t write that was begging to be written.  As you listen to the song, can you guess what’s missing?

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(Sheet music for the hymn “When I Hunger” is available from the Free Stuff page on this web site.)

2016-01-25T18:16:45-06:00January 25, 2016|2 Comments

Food Memory Prayer

This is a guided prayer practice using a happy food memory.  Take ten minutes of quiet time and try it.  I don’t appear in the video at all, but there’s a red-headed woodpecker that comes and goes.

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What food memory did you use?  How did that work for you?

2016-01-18T19:59:07-06:00January 18, 2016|3 Comments

Gat No Heat

There’s a funny story about the end of King David’s life—a story we don’t usually read aloud in church.  This is from 1 Kings 1:1-4, in the King James Version:

Now king David was old and stricken in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he gat no heat.  Wherefore his servants said unto him, Let there be sought for my lord the king a young virgin: and let her stand before the king, and let her cherish him, and let her lie in thy bosom, that my lord the king may get heat.  So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the coasts of Israel, and found Abishag a Shunammite, and brought her to the king.  And the damsel was very fair, and cherished the king, and ministered to him: but the king knew her not.

Gat no heat?  Ouch … I hate it when that happens …

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So, on a more serious note: what does a healthy stance toward the Bible look like to you?  Scroll down and tell us about it.

2016-01-12T16:18:42-06:00January 12, 2016|12 Comments

Cloverleaf Rolls

Here’s my favorite bread recipe: cloverleaf rolls.

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Is there an activity like this in your life — something that might seem mundane, but that is (or could become) a spiritual practice for you? Please tell us about it!

Best blessings,

Adam

P.S. For those who’d like to try it, here’s that recipe for cloverleaf rolls.

1. Stir a packet of yeast into half a cup of warm water, with an eighth of a teaspoon of sugar. Give it five minutes or so to show you it’s alive.

2. Mix together three and a half cups of flour (that’s about a pound), two tablespoons of butter (I grated it in, because I couldn’t find my pastry knife), two teaspoons of salt, half a cup of milk, a third of a cup of water, and one egg. Once it’s thoroughly mixed, let it rest for five minutes or so.

3. Knead it — roughly fifty times, but who’s counting? Then put the dough in an oiled bowl, cover it, and leave it in a warm place to rise. Allow an hour or more for this — it should rise to at least one and a half times its original volume. (In the video, I let it go a bit too long — it more than doubled in volume — but that’s okay too.)

4. Punch it down and knead it briefly again. Cut and roll it into small balls, and put three balls in each cup of an oiled muffin pan. It takes two 3×4 muffin pans — I usually get 18-20 rolls. Cover the pans (I used oiled cling film) and let them rise again.

5. Brush each roll with melted butter. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for about 16 minutes, until lightly browned.

Blessed baking!

2016-01-18T19:56:35-06:00January 1, 2016|8 Comments

In a Dream I Met the Buddha

Here’s a special holiday confection from The Merry Mystic.

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Be the Light!

Best blessings,

Adam

2015-12-21T17:06:51-06:00December 21, 2015|2 Comments

Compassion’s Sting

In this week’s installment of The Merry Mystic, I share a new hymn about the earth. Three weeks ago I shared an upbeat, celebratory one: “The Harmony of the Incredible Earth.” Today’s offering is more of a lament. It balances out my feelings about this wonderful earth we inhabit. Sometimes the earth is so overwhelmingly beautiful that I just have to join in its song; sometimes the harm we’re doing, the harm I’m doing, to the earth is so sad that I just have to lament.

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Sheet music for “Compassion’s Sting” is now available in the Free Stuff area.

Please leave a comment below: are you celebrating the earth’s beauty today, or lamenting its abuse, or some combination of both?

Best blessings,

Adam

2015-12-13T18:32:51-06:00December 13, 2015|0 Comments

My Weekend with Pagans

In this week’s installment of The Merry Mystic, I share a story about a fascinating weekend I spent with a Wiccan group.

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Do you have any experience with the modern faces of paganism? Please leave a comment and share it with your fellow merry mystics.

Blessed be,

Adam

2015-12-07T18:52:42-06:00December 7, 2015|0 Comments

Table Grace

In this week’s installment of The Merry Mystic, I share a little song that celebrates the way my kids used to participate in our table grace.

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Do you have a story about saying grace? Please leave a comment and share it with your fellow merry mystics.

With continued thanksgiving and best blessings,

Adam

2015-11-27T16:20:14-06:00November 27, 2015|4 Comments
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