At the Wednesday Connection at church, there is usually an opportunity to get in groups to pray. I am more comfortable praying with just Michael than approaching others, so we frequently have a group of two. Last Wednesday was the final week for Connection this school year, and we finally approached someone sitting by himself to make a group of three.

This was not heroic. There was no real danger. It was slightly inconvenient to get up and move, a tad uncomfortable to ask if we could join a stranger, and it took a bit of willpower to break our habit. But it took us a school year to realize it might be a good thing to do and do it.

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I almost missed this "Thankful Thursday" (even though I’ve set up a calendar reminder... hmm... might need to pay more attention to the calendar). Rather than doing a handful of things, I think this month I’m going to focus on one big thing.

Jason Meyer is preaching a series of sermons as part of the candidate/transition process. I love the evidence of grace seen in Jason Meyer’s life as he directs attention away from himself toward Jesus (in a good way, not like he’s trying to hide something). I’m thanking God for the unity and provision He has given Bethlehem so far during this transition.

As I have been pondering justice lately, one question that has been coming to mind: is justice primarily about the wronged or the wrong-doer (or is there another option)? How would you come to an answer? How should the answer impact our views on things such as incarceration, burden of proof, and vigilantes?

O Lord, let not our nation’s laws demand
That we would wrong those who would immigrate
But rather welcome them with out-stretched hand
To live in hope and peace in any state.

Incline the hearts of those who legislate
To do what’s right, to love what’s merciful,
To turn away from fear, from greed, from hate.
Give them the wisdom to let justice roll.

My God, in grace, let not our hearts grow dull,
But give us eyes to see with empathy
And ears that go past tongue to hear the soul
Of those who seek our land of liberty.

Give help to the oppressed, O Righteous One,
King Jesus, let Your will in this be done.

Last night, Michael and I went to Target Field while the Red Sox were in town. It was my fourth major league game, my fourth stadium, and my first time seeing the Red Sox (at the stadium, I’ve watched them on TV before).

The game was a bit of a nail-biter, and I would have preferred something like a 9-0 lead after the 5th . . . on the other hand, I like the win.

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This week of the 7 read-along covers the seventh month, "Stress". On day 7, Jen Hatmaker sets alarms (for the rest of the month), to remind herself to take the intended pauses, based on monastic usage of bells for the purpose.

This reminded me of John Dyer naming the clock as one of The Top 5 Technologies that Will Shape the Church in 2012. I’m not sure why my mind keeps drawing connections from 7 to John Dyer — as opposed to the many other people who’s thoughts I read in tweets, blog posts, and books — maybe it has something to do with Texas.

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Although I had planned to write more about defining racism, it seems that one of the difficulties in the definition is not a difficulty limited to racism, the difficulty of the relationship between individuals and groups.

I think Americans tend to put too much emphasis on individuals. We think about individuals repenting, but Jesus denounced cities for failing to repent and spoke of their fate on the day of judgment (Matthew 11:20-24). We sometimes forget that many of the epistles were written to churches, not just church members.

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Although I don’t know everything that will be on the ballot in November, I am fairly certain I know which vote will be easiest to cast. Last week, Republicans in the Minnesota Legislature sent a constitutional amendment to the ballot, one requiring voters to show photo identification. I oppose this ridiculous measure.

I feel strongly about this issue, but I debated whether or not to write a blog post, because the majority of my readers (as far as I know) do not live in Minnesota. I decided to go ahead because Minnesota isn’t the only state dealing with the issue and perhaps writing about why I oppose this specific amendment, though the majority of the state’s population supports it, can impact thinking about legislation in general.

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This week in the 7 read-along, covers Jen Hatmaker’s month focused on spending.

As the months have gone on, it feels like Hatmaker writes less about the "mechanics" (as she called it on day one of month one), and more about the philosophical side of her fasting.

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Definitions are important, but they can also be difficult. It is easier to identify beauty than define it. It is easier to experience pain than to tell others what pain means. If searching for the meaning of delicious is controversial¹, how much more is attempting to define racism?

Our 1971 compact edition of the Oxford English Dictionary doesn’t have an entry for "racism". It seems racism was first added to the OED in a supplement in 1982. The entry in the current online edition defines racism this way:

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