Laurie Klein, Scribe

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“What Child Is This?” (Soundings, 3rd Impression)

by Laurie Klein 31 Chiming In

In 1865, William Chatterton Dix,
manager at a Glasgow insurance company,
fell desperately ill: depression,
raging infection, isolation—
this man, dedicated to insuring
the lives and livelihoods of others,
languished, near death.

Then, Dix rallied, experiencing
vibrant spiritual renewal, and
from his suffering he bequeathed us
words for one our cherished carols:
“What Child Is This?”

This Christmas, amid global depression,
raging illness, and isolation,
let’s remind one another
that Emmanuel, God with us,
has come … and will return.

https://lauriekleinscribe.com/wp-content/uploads/What-Child-w-Readings.mp3

What Child Is This?

“How beautiful on the mountains
are the feet of those who bring good news,

who proclaim peace,
who bring good tidings …
who say ‘Your God reigns!’

“Watchmen lift up their voices;
together they shout for joy …
for the Lord has comforted his people …
and all the ends of the earth
will see the salvation of our God.

“Jesus himself said, ‘I was born for this:
to tell people about the truth.
That is why I came into the world.’

“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news!”

Isaiah 52: 7-10

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Have any good news to share? We’d love to hear it and rejoice with you . . .

Alternatively, this is a season of “mean estate” for millions. We’d be equally honored to pray alongside you . . .

“What Child Is This,” traditional English folk song, lyrics by William Chatterton Dix, 1865. Public domain.
Reading: Laurie Klein
Music arranged and performed by Bill Klein

 

Filed Under: Small Wonders Tagged With: carols, Emmanuel, good news, peace, salvation, soundings, William Chatterton Dix December 20, 2020

Shalom, Stinkbugs & Utmost Civility

by Laurie Klein 14 Chiming In

“Shalom” is the one word I cannot speak when faced with stinkbugs.

Sleep in a room infested with kamikaze wing-buzz and reek? Fat chance.

Shalom suggests lions laying down with lambs.

lion and lamb shalom

I will NOT lay down anywhere with stinkbugs.

Hence, The Bug Bomb.

And the death toll: 1 bedroom, 23 stinkos plus dozens of flies.

Then, post-carnage, the guilt.

Aren’t we meant to live at peace with creation as well as people?

Shalom

Peace is only one accurate translation for shalom.

The word also means harmony, both spiritual and physical.

Wholeness. Fullness. Prosperity.

Inner completeness, soundness, tranquility.

Welfare: “to be safe in mind, body, or estate.”

An inward sense of rest despite outward circumstances.

Doug Hershey describes shalom as reciprocity, “. . . a type of wholeness that encourages you to give back—to generously repay something in some way.”

Probably excluding bug bombs.

Rabbi David Zaslow writes, “In the Hebraic way of thinking, wholeness is the joining together of opposites.”

Seems like-mindedness is optional.

Shalom also means “hello” and “farewell.”

“When I come from somewhere,” Rabbi Zaslow explains, “I am going somewhere else…“ [which produces a peace with wholeness as its source]. “[A]ll my opposing energies are somehow linked and part of a single whole.”

Which may include one’s personal nemesis.

caged

Or take divergent political views wherein dissenters attempt to wall off the opposition. Who will restrain the roar between left- and right-wingers?

 

wings of shalom

“It takes two wings for an eagle to fly,” Rabbi Zaslow observes. “It takes the integration of two opposing positions for there to be real shalom.”

 

How do we approach integration?

We might consider the word dialogue, meaning “across reason” or “speech that goes back and forth.”

What if those who disagree with us—even stridently—uniquely offer each of us the potential gift of deeper personal wholeness?

A touch of shalom.

Speech that goes back and forth might mean:

  • redefining vocabulary when semantics derails discussion
  • refusing to formulate our comeback while the other person is still speaking
  • planting an idea, then making peace with our role in whatever sprouts

Shalom sprout

 

 

 

Can we listen deeply first, then challenge one another with civility?

What we speak embodies the power of life or death (Prov. 18:21).

Shalom To-Dos

My friend Mark, an artist, writer, and self-described “grumpy Jewish Christian,” tells me some rabbis teach that the Messiah will come when a certain unknown (yet fixed) number of good deeds are completed, each deed containing an element of shalom.

Could we add our small efforts to that growing number? Not to earn merit, or points, but rather enhance someone else’s tranquility, wholeness, safety, and rest.

Empowered by grace, good deeds are honest. Practical. Sustainable.

Years ago Bill and I recorded a song in unison. Blending our voices required deep listening to one another, surrendering our assumptions, and making ongoing, minute adjustments.

Can you discern each voice? Click here to hear “Shalom,” beautifully arranged and produced by our brilliant friend Chris Lobdell.

How might you live a life of shalom this week? I’d love more ideas . . .

p.s. I created a Playlist from song titles you suggested. Click “Reader’s Playlist” in menu bar.

Thank you again for sharing!

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Filed Under: Immersions Tagged With: civility, dialogue, listening, peace, reciprocity, shalom, stinkbugs, sustainable October 2, 2017

Taking Turns, Taking It Slow

by Laurie Klein 22 Chiming In

orange and blue, taking turns

Hairpin turns funnel our 30-foot RV downward today, through Idaho’s wild canyons.

Yours truly is not driving.

I am 93% Bilbo Baggins, a homebody who loves peace, quiet. Warm food.

Bilbo had to dig deep when the great Gandalf appeared and set him on a quest. But the little hobbit discovered derring-do within—latent “Took” qualities from his mother’s side of the family gene pool.

We’ve been traveling for ten days. Taking turns with the driving? Well, hoping to channel my inner Took, a week ago I “took” the wheel. Did I mention we’re also towing a station wagon?

Blues taking turns in the hills of Idaho

I rollercoasted us up and down and around, again, and again, taking turns, taking it slow. To give Bill a break.

Longest. Hour. Ever.

And then the weather changed . . .

clouds, taking turns over the canyon

Today, from the passenger seat, my senses plunge into spring scenery.

Moraines left behind by ancient glaciers look wetly vibrant. Balsam Root Daisies carpet slopes, glowing patches of gray and chartreuse amid deeper greens.

daisies and grass, taking turns on the hillsides

Camera braced on a raised knee, I shoot through the open window. Colors abound!

pastels taking turns on the hillsides

I can almost hear Julie Andrews as Maria von Trapp (who definitely claimed her Took side) singing “The hills are alive with the sound of music.”

What inspired those lyrics? Perhaps, the canyons of Idaho.

Or Isaiah 55:12 (NIV):

You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.

What an ear-tingling promise for people who failed, so spectacularly often, to listen to God. People who clung to their comforts, idols and appetites.

Which sounds like me.

I wonder what today’s scenery might be broadcasting . . .

colors taking turns on the hills

Married to a roamer, I get to regularly unearth my latent Tookishness. Took and Baggins, taking turns inside me. Is one better?

This world needs those who stir things up.

It also needs those who stir the soup,
and those who keep candles burning on window sills.

What will you stir up today? What’s stirring in you?

 

 

Laurie Klein, Scribe

 

Filed Under: Immersions Tagged With: adventure, Baggins, peace, quest, taking turns, Took May 10, 2016

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Where the Sky Opens, a Partial Cosmography

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