Saturday Good Reads

This week began the season of Lent. And the week began with the latest horror from ISIS – the beheading of 21 Coptic Christians from Egypt. A rather spontaneous eruption occurred online, and bloggers started talking about it, asking questions like where is the church? And weren’t these men our brothers in Christ. Even the Administration in Washington responded. And held a summit. Meanwhile, the violence and atrocities continue.

Poetry remind us that Ash Wednesday occurred this week. And the Ascension is coming.

Music

Bridging the Atlantic – Michael Mercer at Internet Monk.

Faith

The Thing About Funerals: Most People Never Have One – Matt and Cheri Appling.

Why Our Culture Sucks the Fun Out of Parenting – Matt Appling.

Welcoming the Storm – Billy Coffey at What I Learned Today.

Parade of Questions – Seth Haines.

To Fast or Too Fast – S.D. Smith.

Poetry

The Inner Life of Everyday Objects - Peggy Rosenthal at Image Journal.

Blue Blurred – Maureen Doallas at Writing Without Paper.

After the Ashes – John Blase at The Beautiful Due.

Ash Wednesday – Chris Yokel.

Ash Wednesday – Chris Davidson at Curator Magazine

ISIS / Society

A Jew in Paris – Rod Dreher at The American Conservative.

Aid Workers Help Yazidi Women Return to Life After ISIS Nightmare - @NBCNews

Remember Their Names – Marilyn Gardner at Communicating Across Boundaries

The Wake-Up Call That is ISIS – Who in the Church is Answering? – Ann Voskamp.

Who Are We, If Not People of the Cross? – Jennifer Dukes-Lee.

One Word Less for Lent – Sandra Heska King.

We Are the People of the Cross – Elizabeth Maxon.

Art

The Mystery of the Blue Flower – Nancy Davis at Cornfields and Lightning Bugs.

Photograph by George Hodan via Public Domain Pictures. Used with permission.