I ❤ Elton. Feeling a bit melancholy this week, as I’m in touch with a significant number of people suffering under the weight of life. Abuse, addiction, bereavement, depression, discord, financial distress, illness, loneliness, resistance, stress, tribulations of all kinds. I am reminded of a group training I did a few years ago at my former church, on the theology of “shepherding.” It’s a term used in the Bible to describe the attributes of God’s ways with people. Psalm 23 is the most well-know for this imagery. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to...

It cannot be seen, It cannot be felt, Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt, It lies behind stars and under hills, And empty holes it fills, It comes first and follows after, Ends life, kills laughter.  – J.R.R. Tolkien Darkness. I would agree that it “ends life, and kills laughter,” but not that it can’t be heard, seen and felt. That is, the darkness inside that we all carry, WILL bear out in life if we let it lie “behind stars and under hills.” But we do it anyway. Hide it. The meme, supposing to be encouraging says, “Think about...