the voices ricocheting off my brain folds say connection, connection

• The earthquake here isn't the hand of God. It affects us because we've chosen to live here, at this specific place on top of an earth that has a shifting, changing crust. What is the hand of God is how we respond to it, how we help each other get through it, coping with our losses. [This is a paraphrase, to the best of my remembrance, of what a minister in Christchurch, New Zealand said in a radio interview. I cannot for the life of me find the specific reference online.]

• Spending about 1/2 hour a day of floor time with each of our kids - playing with them on their terms, actively engaging (not teaching or merely reading to them) - will have a remarkable affect on their intimacy with us, behavior, whininess levels, etc. There are lots of articles on this, but here's one from last decade. This inspires me as a parent, you know? It feels like a real tool that anybody can use right now, cost-free, without formal training. The only thing I have to give up is my attachment to other "priorities" that seem pretty ridiculous in comparison.

• "I am home anywhere if You are where I am." - Rich Mullins

• "The Western idea that it is virtuous to 'keep going until we drop' makes us far less efficient than we could be. Maintaining a balanced rhythm of activity and rest throughout the day increases strength, stamina, and general well-being. It is so easy to continue past the peak of our active curve but, through yoga, we learn to recognize when our peak has been reached, and to stop for a moment to recharge. That moment makes all the difference. It can bring us back to being 'on top of things' once more. (From Yoga For Pregnancy by Friedman and Hall)

• To the ancient Egyptians (and maybe some modern ones too) the dead live on whenever their names are uttered. They meant it quite literally, but I have been thinking of this in relation to naming children. The essence of a person we know is wrapped up in their name, and they are brought to life, enough to stir very strong emotions and memories, when we hear it. Sometimes, right after a death, it's too painful to say the person's name aloud, but there's something healing about hearing the same name in a child, who represents fresh hope and another life yet to be lived.

• Psalm 119 is a rather odd passage, at first glance. You have a poet waxing eloquent about….God’s commands, no less. So, pointed out in my sermon how odd it would be if you gave someone a command and they said something like, “Oh how I love your law!” or “My soul delights in that command!” My suggestion is that the commands of God were a part of the link that held the community of ancient Hebrews together. The commands were mostly concerned with how people treated one another, things like: respecting elders, reconciliation for damaged property, restoration for offenders and criminals, dietary laws for health, a Sabbath rest, religious rituals of dedication, protection for the vulnerable in society (women, orphans, widows), respect for foreigners. And this is really interesting to me, and where I spent most of my time: there were also direct restrictions on the building wealth. No interest was to be charged on loans. Debts were to be forgiven periodically, the year of Jubilee. Also, the land owners were not to harvest the edges of their fields but to leave these gleanings for the poor. So, the commands of God were about creating a structure for a harmonious society. The ancient Hebrew was to find his or her identity not as an individual but as a member of a community, the community of God, where people take care of each other and the laws provided boundaries for mutual respect. - Jon Erdman