Category Archives: Christian Living

Instruction

Posted on June 14, 2012 by Doc Arnett

We learn forgiveness
flows in every direction
or not at all.
Continue reading →

Posted in Christian Living, Poetry, Relationships, Spiritual Contemplation | Tagged forgiveness, Golden Rule, grace, life lessons, love, love others, mercy, vengeance | 2 Comments

At the Corner of Royal and St. Peter

Posted on June 13, 2012 by Doc Arnett

She stands in the street,
heat and humidity of a New Orleans afternoon,
flailing at her guitar and wailing her song.
Continue reading →

Posted in Christian Living, Poetry, Relationships, Spiritual Contemplation | Tagged begging, compassion, desperation, determination, faith, hope, musician, New Orleans, poverty, Royal Street, St. Peter Street, street performer | Comments Off

Polite Refusals

Posted on June 12, 2012 by Doc Arnett

Randa and I are dining at an outdoor balcony table on Decatur Street in New Orleans Continue reading →

Posted in Christian Living, Family, Relationships, Spiritual Contemplation | Tagged Decatur Street, drunks, Jackson Square, language, New Orleans, outdoor dining, restaurants, temptation | Comments Off

Praying for Rain on a Lord’s Day Evening

Posted on June 11, 2012 by Doc Arnett

I lie awake
a little past ten,
still praying for rain,
even while watching the lightning Continue reading →

Posted in Christian Living, Farming, Gardening, Nature, Poetry, Prayer, Spiritual Contemplation | Tagged ailanthus, corn, crops, Doniphan County, drought, dry pasture, Kansas, pasture, praying for rain, rain, soybeans, spraying weeds | 3 Comments

Theology in a Dry Spell

Posted on May 31, 2012 by Doc Arnett

I pray for a long night
and a following day
of slow, seeping rain Continue reading →

Posted in Christian Living, Farming, Gardening, Nature, Poetry, Prayer, Spiritual Contemplation | Tagged believing, disappointment, drought, faith, faith in hard times, rain | Comments Off

Intentionally Invitational

Posted on May 30, 2012 by Doc Arnett

I’d love to know how many hours Randa and I have spent in conversation with each other over the past twenty-three years! Offhand, I’d guess that if we added up all the time Continue reading →

Posted in Christian Living, Family, Prayer, Relationships, Spiritual Contemplation | Tagged close relationships, closeness, couples, developing closeness, getting close to God, time together | Comments Off

Toward Peace

Posted on May 29, 2012 by Doc Arnett

We sit, then, sipping cold drinks
and watching the moon slip its way
into the branches of the pin oak. Continue reading →

Posted in Aging, Christian Living, Death & Dying, Family, Gardening, Nature, Poetry, Relationships, Spiritual Contemplation | Tagged closeness, conversation, evening, gardening, hope, peace, resting, talking, twilight | Comments Off

I have a 1997 Ford Ranger pickup that has spent most of its entire life carrying more weight than it was built to carry. In that regard, it’s kind of like a few people I’ve seen in Wal-Mart. Continue reading →

Posted in Christian Living, Humor, Relationships, Spiritual Contemplation | Tagged buying used car, checking oil, deceit, evangelists, honesty, used cars, used truck, Wal-Mart, WalMart | Comments Off

Good Measure

Posted on May 24, 2012 by Doc Arnett

In the strong stir of southern wind,
the long, slender limbs of locust
bend to the north in sweeping crescents
of graceful submission, Continue reading →

Posted in Christian Living, Nature, Poetry, Relationships, Spiritual Contemplation | Tagged adjusting to life, bending, birch trees, gentleness, influence, locust trees, storm damage, trees, wind | Comments Off

Blair, Kansas

Posted on May 23, 2012 by Doc Arnett

There are bound to be a hundred stories here, buildings that used to host something resembling a flourishing business, once-fine houses now lived in by the last, poorest cousin of some entrepreneur, once-occupied, now empty lots including the one where they finally tore down the old school. Continue reading →

Posted in Christian Living, Relationships, Spiritual Contemplation | Tagged Blair Kansas, Doniphan County, evangelism, neighborhood, old towns, poverty, rural community | Comments Off