Spiritual Journey Thursday: Service

 

Welcome to our April SJT. Because it's taking place on Maundy Thursday, the day of Holy Week when Jesus washed His disciples' feet, I, as this month's host, suggested that we could write about service. (As always, the prompt is just a suggestion; feel free to write about something completely different!) SJT friends, please leave a comment with your link. (By the way, if you want to read more about Maundy Thursday, I posted some about it when I hosted SJT in 2023 here.) 

 

It was an uncomfortable moment. The disciples were gathered to share their Passover meal, and instead of waiting for the lowest servant to come in to wash everyone's feet, a traditional way to welcome a guest who had been walking on dusty streets, Jesus knelt down before His followers and did that job Himself. It definitely wasn't His job, as the leader, the most important person in the room. But He not only did it, He told them that now they needed to do that for each other. That, the most dirty, low-down, embarrassing kind of service. They shouldn't consider themselves too good to serve others. They shouldn't sit and wait for others to come serve them. They should do what needed to be done. 

 

It's hard to serve others sometimes, and it's also sometimes hard and embarrassing to let others serve you. Both sides of the equation involve being able to forget yourself and your own dignity and importance. Washing other people's feet can be smelly and unpleasant, but letting others wash yours can make you feel self-conscious and uneasy. 

 

The most secure people are the ones who have nothing to prove, and as I read the gospels, I see that Jesus was like that. He was so sure of who He was and what His purpose on earth was that He had no need to impress others or meet their expectations. He didn't concern Himself with people's criticisms or accolades. The only one He cared about pleasing was His Father. I think the more we can be like that, the less trouble we will have with both serving others and being served by them. 

 

Go here to read a beautiful poem about Jesus washing Judas' feet.

 

 

2026 Progressive Poem

Happy National Poetry Month! The 2026 Progressive Poem has begun. You can follow along at these links as the month goes on.

 

 April 1 Tabatha Yeatts at The Opposite of Indifference
April 2 Cathy Stenquist at A Little Bit of This and That
April 3 Patricia Franz at Reverie
April 4 Donna Smith at Mainely Write
April 5 Janice Scully at Salt City Verse
April 6 Denise Krebs at Dare to Care
April 7 Ruth Hersey at There is no such thing as a God-forsaken town
April 8 Rose Cappelli at Imagine the Possibilities
April 9 Margaret Simon at Reflections on the Teche
April 10 Janet Clare Fagel at Reflections on the Teche
April 11 Diane Davis at Starting Again in Poetry
April 12 Linda Baie at Teacher Dance
April 13 Linda Mitchell at Another Word Edgewise
April 14 Jone MacCulloch at
April 15 Joyce Uglow at Storied Ink
April 16 Carol Varsalona at Beyond Literacy Link
April 17 Robyn Hood Black at Life on the Deckle Edge
April 18 Michele Kogan at More Art for All
April 19 Kim Johnson at Common Threads
April 20 Buffy Silverman
April 21 Irene Latham at Live Your Poem
April 22 Karen Edmisten
April 23 Heidi Mordhorst at my juicy little universe
April 24 Mary Lee Hahn at A(nother) Year of Reading
April 25 Tanita Davis at Fiction, instead of Lies
April 26 Sharon Roy at Pedaling Poet
April 27 Tracey Kiff-Judson at Tangles and Tails
April 28
April 29
April 30

 

 

Reading Update

Book #21 of 2026 was Summer Island, by Kristin Hannah. This was a sad story of family dysfunction but there was some reconciliation in the end.

 

Book #22 was Punching the Air, by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam. This verse novel interested me for a couple of reasons. One was that a Facebook friend had her high school students reading it in a book club. Another was that Ibi Zoboi is of Haitian origin. And having just read The River is Waiting, I was especially sensitive to the subject of prison. After reading it, I learned that Yusef Salaam is an activist around the topic of incarceration, being one of the Exonerated Five. I enjoyed this and could imagine discussing it with students.

 

Book #23 was So Far Gone by Jess Walter and book #24 was A Guardian and a Thief, by Megha Majumdar. I'm putting them together not because of similar settings, since the former is set in the Northwest of the US in the present and the latter in Kolkata, India in the near future. But both books seemed at first to be fast-paced, fun adventures that would all work out in the end, only to turn much darker than I had anticipated. Both were brilliantly structured and I was glad I had read them, but neither had much in the way of hope or redemption. A Guardian and a Thief is climate fiction, a genre I have been meeting more and more in my reading. 

 

Book #25 was the non-fiction A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession and Shipwreck, by Sophie Elmhirst. It would have been easy to romanticize this event which took place in the early seventies, but I appreciated Elmhirst's very matter-of-fact style. I felt as though I got to know both members of this couple that decided to leave everything and take to sea. It was a gripping read. 

Reading Update

Book #15 of the year was The Compound, by Aisling Rawle. This is about a reality show in a world that's maybe just a bit more messed up than our current situation, but not by all that much. On camera constantly, housemates compete for relationships and possessions by doing increasingly brutal things. I expected some kind of realization or redemption but there wasn't any. But it was gripping and hard to put down.

 

Book #16 was The Hunter, by Tana French. This was the second in a trilogy; the third one is coming out next month. Cal Hooper was a police officer in Chicago and he retired to quiet, peaceful rural Ireland. Of course it isn't quite as quiet and peaceful as anticipated. 

 

Book #17 was The River is Waiting, by Wally Lamb. This book was heart-wrecking. It was a book club read, and we were all plunged into despair by it. There's a horrible event in the first chapter and then the whole rest of the book shows the consequences of that event. There's a lot in the book about the prison system in the United States. 

 

Book #18 was Amy Tan's The Backyard Bird Chronicles, which consists of journal entries and drawings of what she witnesses in her back yard during the pandemic. I enjoyed this one enormously.

 

Book #19 was Spectacular Things, by Beck Dorey-Stein, a story of two sisters and how they manage to go on living when they lose their mom. It was an interesting peek into the world of professional soccer, too.

 

Book #20 also gave a glimpse into a world that was unfamiliar to me, that of internet influencers. It was Everyone is Lying to You, by Jo Piazza, mostly set at a conference for said influencers called MomBomb. It's a pretty gory and awful story, and then some of the stuff tacked on at the end made me a little confused and perhaps in need of the inevitable sequel? 

 

In my last reading update I said we'd be teaching online for a bit; it turned out to be only two days and then we were able to reopen. I am very thankful to be teaching in person, whether or not there's more time for reading, but I've also been struggling to catch up on the work the kids did/were supposed to do during the days off and the online teaching. And as you can see from these reviews, I've been reading a lot of dark stuff. I need something a little more cheerful next... 

Reading Update

We just had an election here in Uganda, and we had two days off for it. Thursday for the voting and Friday for the counting, then the weekend for the announcing of the results and the -- we hoped not -- unrest. The government also turned off the internet. The combination of time off and no internet led to completion of many books. As it turned out, there was/is some unrest, and we are now going to be teaching online for a little while. This may lead to more reading? We'll see. I'm not thrilled about teaching online again, but more reading time is always a good thing.

 

Book #5 of the year was The Searcher, by Tana French. This is the beginning of a different series from the French series I read last year. I enjoyed it and look forward to the next one being available.

 

Book #6 was The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny, by Kiran Desai. I expected to love this book. So many people had it on their favorites list for last year. I love many Indian novelists. Plus I had already read two Kiran Desai books and liked them both. I absolutely loved The Inheritance of Loss. And yet I found this book only OK. I actually had to force myself to finish it. I think a big reason for this was that I hated the Ilan plot and that took up soooo much of the book. I was glad I finished it because I liked the ending, but it was a big disappointment after her previous books. 

 

Book #7 was What Kind of Paradise, by Janelle Brown. I enjoyed this study of the good and bad sides of technology. It moved fast and that was kind of what was called for after Sonia and Sunny.

 

Book #8 was The Priory of the Orange Tree, by Samantha Shannon. This is the kind of fantasy novel I rarely read, but the occasional dragon-riding story has to be a good thing, right? Even at more than 800 pages, it kept me reading. At first I thought I'd never keep all the characters (all with strange names) straight, but I had no trouble.

 

Book #9 was The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, by Arundhati Roy. I had to take several runs at this one, and I also had to make myself finish it. It has brilliance in it, though. 

 

Book #10 was Philip Yancey's memoir Where the Light Fell. Yes, the Philip Yancey that's been in the news lately. It was still a good book.

 

Book #11 was what I listened to when I couldn't listen to podcasts (while washing dishes and doing laundry, mostly). It was Charlotte's Web, by E.B. White (and read by the author). This book is so good. If you haven't read it since you were a kid, you've probably forgotten how good.

 

Book #12 was Home Remedies, a book of short stories by Angela Pneuman. I went to college with her, and I had already read her novel, Lay It On My Heart. The stories are in the same physical and emotional universe. They are kind of like if Flannery O'Connor were writing about Kentucky in the 80s.

 

Book #13 was Halcyon Journey: In Search of the Belted Kingfisher, by Marina Richie. I love books that are part nature writing, part folklore, part memoir, and this falls squarely in that category. 

 

Book #14 was Theo of Golden, by Allen Levi. This was a book club pick. We couldn't meet last week because of the election, but when we last talked, we were all enjoying it! 

Poetry Friday is Here Today!

Welcome to Poetry Friday! Leave your links in the comments and I will round them up. I have comment moderation enabled so don't panic if your comment doesn't show up immediately. I'm on East African Time, which is currently 8 hours ahead of the east coast of the US. 

 

I've been rereading J. Drew Lanham's book Sparrow Envy: Field Guide to Birds and Lesser Beasts. I really recommend it; it's about birds, yes, but also about being Black in the United States. You in the northern hemisphere are past the solstice now, and moving into longer days, but this still seems appropriate for January. I live on the equator, but still as I'm writing this, it's a dark and overcast day at the end of winter break. The poem works for me today.

 

 

 

Soulful Warming

by J. Drew Lanham

 

cold creeps in

a gray chill settles

darkness fills

where sunlight falls

cardinal chants

in tangled bramble

towhee kick-scatters leaves

and care

take heart

grasp hope

feathers lighten

solstice's darkening burden

brightening briefest day

 

 

Tracey is in with her OLW for 2026, plus a Jorie Graham poem.

 

Good morning! I'm waking up to an inbox full of comments! Just published them all and now I'll round up for a while.

 

Jane hopes (rather than resolves) to share poetry all year. Looking forward to it, Jane!

 

Matt has posted about his 2023 book, The Thing to Remember about Stargazing, which has just won an award. He shares with us how this book came to be. Sometimes it's a circuitous journey! 

 

Jone is sharing her OLW for the new year! (Yes, Jone, I can read your comment, but sadly I once again can't access the post itself from my network. Wish we knew why!)

 

Robyn has written a sad, beautiful poem about Renée Nicole Good.

 

Michelle is thinking about Renée Nicole Good as well, and has written a haiku and a zeno.

 

Marcie has a photo and a haiku, and also shares her OLW for this new year. 

 

Jan is also sharing a poem about Renée Nicole Good; this tragic death on Wednesday of a young mom and fellow poet has touched many of us!

 

Tabatha is thinking of this same topic, and shares two poems, one about Eric Garner, and one about how we can respond in these times.

 

Karen is also grieving this loss, and has a Mary Oliver poem for us.

 

Carmela's post isn't live yet, it appears, so I'll come back later and link it. (That link is to the main blog, Teaching Authors.) She's written about a poetry workshop and a Chris Harris poem. 

 

Linda has made the switch to Substack! Congratulations, Linda! As always, she's picked a creative OLW and she shares a poem with us on her new theme. 

 

Rose is thinking about stargazing, teaching, and waiting. Beautiful, Rose! 

 

Linda's in with watching stars and grieving Renée Nicole Macklin Good. (Two of today's emerging themes together!) 

 

My ninth graders just left after the last class of the day, and I can see that people in the US are waking up because I started getting more comments! Good morning to you!

 

Irene has a poem for the girl in the mirror, plus she's started posting videos again with writing tips. Looking forward to watching! 

 

Margaret is introducing her OLW - or will she have a different word every month? She's got a poem about simplicity. 

 

Mary Lee is sharing Renée Good's award-winning poem, "On Learning to Dissect Fetal Pigs." 

 

Patricia is sharing an original poem, "The Year as a Letter."

 

Carol is looking forward to spring, and sharing some A. A. Milne. (One of my favorite poets from childhood - I can still recite some of the poems from the books Carol mentions!)

 

And the other Carol has written a poem about her OLW for 2026. Great choice, Carol, and best wishes in the weeks and months ahead!

 

 

 

 

SJT: OLW

Happy New Year! This is our first SJT (Spiritual Journey Thursday) for 2026, and today our host Margaret has asked us to share our OLW (One Little Word) for the year. Sorry to be boring, but I'm sticking to the same OLW for the fourth year in a row. The word, FEATHER, is serving me well and I still love it. 

 

Feathers, as I reflected here, here, and here, are light and beautiful, yet tough and multipurpose. If you find a feather on the ground, it means a bird has lost it, but as long as that bird is still alive, the feather will grow back. In fact, most birds do at least a partial molt once a year (and some twice). That's why birds look different depending on the time of the year and the time of life. So feathers are a symbol of change and resilience. I'm blessed to live in a country with gorgeous, bright tropical plumages, and I have collected feathers of all different shades, some shining with iridescence. 

 

I gave serious thought to changing my word to ANALOG this year, since I have been watching with increasing horror the way AI has been taking over people's experience of the world and creativity. Then I realized that birding is my ultimate analog activity, going outside, watching, listening, being present and enjoying what is around me in real time. What God created and gave us. 

 

I love this poem by Joyce Clement (I found it here). The birds that punctuate my days are different from hers, but birds do punctuate my days, too.

 

 

Birds Punctuate the Days

by Joyce Clement

apostrophe
the nuthatch inserts itself
between feeder and pole
 

semicolon
two mallards drifting
one dunks for a snail
 

ellipses
a mourning dove
lifts off
 

asterisk
a red-eyed vireo catches
the crane fly midair
 

comma
a down feather
bobs between waves
 

exclamation point
wren on the railing
takes notice
 

colon
mergansers paddle toward
morning trout swirl
 

em dash
at dusk a wild goose
heading east
 

question mark
the length of silence
after a loon’s call
 

period
one blue egg all summer long
now gone

 

Reading Update

So I'm going back to work today. We had visitors over our Christmas break and stayed quite occupied. Nevertheless, here is what I've managed to read so far this year.

 

Book #1 of 2026 was The Correspondent, by Virginia Evans. I noticed this turned up a lot on people's favorites lists for last year, and sure enough, it was a good one. I enjoyed it immensely. 

 

Book #2 was Jodi Picoult's 2007 novel Nineteen Minutes. It was painful watching the teachers in the novel ignore bullying every chance they got. Let's hope we're doing a little better in 2026.

 

Book #3 was Among Friends, by Hal Ebbott. Again I'll use the word painful, as this story looks at family dynamics, friendships, and what we're willing to tolerate from those we love.

 

Book #4 was Some Bright Nowhere, by Ann Packer, a heartbreaking novel about death.