Not a single word in the Beatitudes relates to human notions of what a kingdom is like. Human ideas of kingdom building focus on nation, race, tribe, military strength, and wealth. Jesus teaches that greatness in His kingdom is found in the character that reflects His likeness.

Scripture makes it clear that the place where God dwells must be both holy and a refuge for the poor and oppressed—both individually and as the body of Christ.

Every time we treat someone with dignity rather than shame, respect rather than disregard, concern rather than exploitation, kindness rather than brutality, and careful attention rather than turning away—we are doing things that are the reverse of trauma and evil.

Why would you want a mill? For the eels, yo! In 1211, William Blundell built a mill at Raven Meols & collected eels in rent from the miller. Later on, his family donated the mill to local monks. But they kept the rights to all those eels. Some things gotta stay in the family!

We are nearly finished with Beezus & Ramona in our after school book club. I let the kids vote on what they wanted our next book to be. Matilda won. If you would like to help donate a book to a child for book club, here's the link: www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/...

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but your desire to have a cottage in the Scottish Highlands, endless cups of tea, a riveting novel, a plate of freshly-baked emotional support scones, and a bookshelf with a rolling ladder doesn’t make you “too needy."

I don’t need to be “wealthy”, per se. I just want to have enough money to buy my own castle on the Scottish coast so that I can never be seen again.

Just pulled a loose book from a bookshelf, and regrettably, a secret door didn't open, so I'm afraid your email did not "find me well."

At the end of the day, don’t we all just want to read books during a raging snowstorm in front of a crackling fire whilst enjoying a plate of emotional support scones?

Be a hand-written letter in a world full of text messages.

Vainly we offer each ample oblation; Vainly with gifts would his favour secure: Richer by far is the heart's adoration; Dearer to God are the prayers of the poor. (from Brightest and Best / Star in the East)

A Poem for Someone Who Is Juggling Her Life

I hate living in an age with so many absolutely vile people who have so much destructive power. Not the first, won't be the last, but I hate it now just the same.

“No one teaches the Western canon anymore!” “Look, Plato’s Symposium is right here on my syllabus!” “Whoa, whoa, whoa—not that!”

Eel skin was super useful! But there was too much of it. The English ate tons of eels, & were awash in skins. It got the reputation as a trash good. So if someone calls you a merchant of eel skin, go on & be offended. Unless...you know...you're a conman. Then just own it. /fin

But that's not all! Eel skin, when placed directly on the belly, was alleged to help a woman suffering from a fallen womb. And Yorkshire folklore recommended that people should wear eel-skin garters throughout the day to help soothe muscle aches and cramps. 6/7

For example: do you suffer from bloody noses like my 11 yr old? Well then...you need an eel! According to Robert Thornton's 1440 book of medical advice, you can cure a bloody nose by crushing up eel skin & snorting it (through your "nose thirlles") 5/7

Anyway, eel skin had other uses in premodern England, as well. There's a long tradition of using it as a wrap for sprains & tendonitis. It's still a habit of Lough Neagh fishermen. This makes sense, & we can see how it would work. But other eel skin cures are...less likely. 4/7

Fun fact: most eel-skin products you buy today aren't from eels at all! They're made from hagfish skin, which is also quite tough. Hagfish are sometimes called slime eels. And you never want to have a highway accident involving them. 3/7 www.cnn.com/2017/07/14/u...

"But wasn't eel skin useful for things?" you ask. Yes! Lots! Eel leather is thin, flexible, & strong...so strong that through the 19th C it was used in industrial machinery for drive belts and lacing. You can use it to make wallets, belts, and all sorts of things. 2/7

Has anyone called you a "merchant of eel skin" lately? If so, you should take offense. In premodern England, that was an insult. It meant you were a fraud: making promises you can't keep. Like a vendor trying to sell an eel but not having the meat. A living weasel word! 1/7 🗃️🧪

The answer the people demand, to the question that somebody asks every 6-8 months

ICYMI...

Daily bunny no.3192 is tampering with the past

Good morning, beloved. Freedom feels like moving with & on purpose. Today is a great day to overcome evil with good.

7 Jan is St Distaff Day or Rock Day, when women returned to spinning after Christmas. There was no saint, it was a jocular name; distaff and rock are the staff for drawing flax. Reedmace, likened to a distaff, was ‘Cuigeal nam ban-sìthe’ in Gaelic, meaning ‘staff of fairy women’.

ICYMI...

Morning Prayer: Loving God, we welcome Your Light to guide us today. May we recognize Your Light in everyone we meet and receive them as ones created in Your image. May Your Light shine through us and radiate Your grace in all the places that need Your Light and wisdom. Amen.

Morning Prayer: Loving God, may Your encouragement be with those who need encouraged through this day. May hope be renewed in those feeling discouraged. May Your grace provide the inward strength needed to meet today's challenges and responsibilities. Be with us in this day. Amen.

#MorningPrayer Keep us ready, Lord Jesus, to hear and answer your call upon our lives, whenever it may come, that we may follow faithfully and labour lovingly in the work of your gospel. May our response to your grace help others lift their gaze to your glory, and know your love.

"The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater." ~ J.R.R. Tolkien

"Your hopes, dreams, and aspirations are legitimate. They are trying to take you airborne, above the clouds, above the storms, if you only let them." ~ William James The Road to Marly-le-Roi 🎨 Alfred Sisley (1875)

Take a moment, and read... 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐫 by Kahlil Gibran

Good morning, beloved. Joy is not a zero-sum game. It doesn’t have to come at anyone’s expense, and you can share it freely. Today is a great day to overcome evil with good.

#MorningPrayer Lord, you led the Magi to worship your Son by the light of a star, that he may be revealed to the nations. Let the light of your love and grace shine in and through us, your disciples and your church, that many may be led to worship, to wonder, to walk in your way.

God came down to us as the embodiment of that which is weak and unimportant, and out of weakness showed us the strength and power of His love.

“Be a good steward of your gifts. Protect your time. Feed your inner life. Avoid too much noise. Read good books, have good sentences in your ears. Be by yourself as often as you can. Walk. Take the phone off the hook. Work regular hours.” - Jane Kenyon

A blessing from John O'Donohue ✨️

Good morning, beloved. You are worth living well for. Today is a great day to overcome evil with good.

Daily bunny no.3190 will find a different tree

We just had an illuminating realization that tomorrow is the Epiphany.

Twelfth Night, usually 5 January (though some regard it as the 6th), was a traditional time to wassail the apple trees in England’s cider counties, singing and blessing them for luck and a good crop. In parts of the West Country, Old Twelfth Night is still kept on 17 January.

Morning Prayer: Loving God, as we awaken to this day, may we awaken to Your Presence that welcomes us as we live this day. May we awaken to your call to love and be builders of peace. May we awaken to Your gifts within us and help to build a better and flourishing world. Amen.

Morning Prayer: Loving God, as we begin this new week at the beginning of a new year, may we keep our hearts open to approaching life as a beginner in all ways so that we are continually learning and living on a growing edge. Turn our growing into new beginnings and action. Amen.

#MorningPrayer Inspire us, Lord, to devote ourselves to prayer; not simply to making our own intercession, but to prayer as your church, together in you, rejoicing in our relationship with sisters and brothers around the world. Keep us alert to your leading, attuned to your love.

Anxiety is high. It always happens in that weird stillness. The stillness after a storm but before the rainbow... when the world is still reeling from the whipping winds and torrential downpour, uncertain if tomorrow will be better. But I know it will be. It has to be. I'll meet the sun there.

Daily bunny no.3189 "do you know the way out??"

A drawing from last night and today. Sometimes i don’t know what I’ve drawn — I almost never have a goal when I start — but this one seemed clear to me from early on. I see a tree by a river. Though if you flip it upside down it’s a deep-rooted lump.

Was it always going to be a monstrous, Dark Crystal style chicken? Of course not! That didn’t happen until pretty late. Here’s what it looked like partway through, when I had no idea what it was going to be.

Roses are red Plots sometimes thicken. I think that I’ve drawn A monstrous chicken.