by Prasanta | Nov 29, 2022 | Belonging, Community, Friendship, Relationships, The Mudroom
I know it’s coming, but I’m not prepared. Fill in the blank with “it.” It could be dinnertime each day. I’m not prepared to answer the daily question, “What’s for dinner?” “It” could be the next difficult season up ahead, or it could the wildest season of joy. Why do...
by Prasanta | Nov 21, 2019 | Community, Friendship, Memories, Thankfulness
Gently the dark comes down over the wild, fair places, The whispering glens in the hills, the open, starry spaces; Rich with the gifts of the night, sated with questing and dreaming, We turn to the dearest of the paths where the star of the homelight is gleaming....
by Prasanta | Jan 20, 2019 | Community, Death, Friend, Journey, Pain, Relationships
Just last month, on Dec. 1, my two boys and I ate birthday cake with our neighbor, Mr. B., on the occasion of his 102nd birthday. His caretaker (a family friend of his actually) called us and said she was going to surprise him with a cake and invited us to join in. So...
by Prasanta | Jan 2, 2019 | Community, Friend, Friendship, Intentionality, Relationships, Uncategorized
Some people have a “word” that characterizes their focus for the upcoming year. I do not have a single word. I have never really had a single word. Maybe one day, I will. So far, I have found it difficult to narrow down to a single word, no matter how much...
by Prasanta | Nov 14, 2018 | Community, Encouragement, Family, Friendship, Gifts, Growing up the South, Identity, Immigrant Stories, Life, Loss, Memories, Stories about home, Thankfulness, Uncategorized
Gently the dark comes down over the wild, fair places, The whispering glens in the hills, the open, starry spaces; Rich with the gifts of the night, sated with questing and dreaming, We turn to the dearest of the paths where the star of the homelight is gleaming....
by Prasanta | Feb 13, 2018 | Community, Debate, Dialogue, Faith, Friendship, Intentionality
“Mr. B is homebound. Until last year, however, he was “schlepping around” in his kitchen, baking his own bread, and cooking and hosting Sabbath supper at his home for his adult children every Friday night. Mr. B. is originally from Ukraine, Jewish...
by Prasanta | Nov 15, 2014 | Bear One Another's Burdens, Community
“You will need to be on bed rest,” the doctor said. Actually, the news was better than I thought it would be. I was anticipating several months of bed rest in the hospital– so several months of bed rest at home because of complications while...
by Prasanta | Oct 29, 2012 | Community, One Thousand Gifts, Quotes
“Christian community is not an ideal which we must realize, it is rather a reality created by God in Christ in which we may participate.”~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer I read that quote somewhere recently, and it got me thinking. Christian community will never be...
by Prasanta | May 30, 2012 | Bear One Another's Burdens, Community, Friendship, Jesus
The Walk (aka Community) What is found in you is found in me and if we don’t have it, we’ll search together at the cusp of each and every bend, under every rock, behind every cloud that rains. If you lose it, I will search with you; we’ll sing hymns,...
by Prasanta | Apr 27, 2012 | Community
We used to have it. In this culture. But… not so much anymore. Not too long ago, people were out of their homes, more than they are now. Not too long ago, neighbors knew each other by name, and then some. Not too long ago, kids ran around with the other kids in...